The hero of this thriller is an Englishman trapped in a Russian labour camp for criminals, condemned to waste away there for a sinlge, trifling act of espionage. Sent starving to the notorious Camp 3 at Barashevo, with no hope of release for 14 years, Michael Holly, who is not a spy and has no training, no preparation for the shock and torture of the camp, is nevertheless a man of indelible courage. He turns the tables on his captors, awakes at first a few seeds of resistance among his 800 fellow prisoners, and at length destroys the crushed and servile temper of the camp for all time.