When a large factory shuts down in Remora, IL, the town faces a sudden economic depression. Most all of the adults in Remora were employed through the factory, and as a result of its closing, many face sudden unemployment. Stores close all over town and families struggle to make ends meet. At some point, somebody comes up with the idea to put a prison in town, something that will provide mass employment as well as draw visitors to the town who will support local businesses. Soon, Corvus Correctional begins construction where the factory had been. Businesses begin to reopen, and residents find employment as construction workers. Soon, large buses haul in thousands of inmates, and many residents transition into work as corrections officers. Visitors stream into town and visit the café before heading over to see inmates. On the surface, the town is prospering again — but a resident points out that while the town's residents are all white, the inmates in the prison are almost all non-white. The census is counting these inmates in the town's population, and thus the government is giving more federal money to the town. Essentially, the white town is profiting off of the suffering of black and Hispanic inmates. Kyle, a townsman who has been working as a prison guard, is busted for selling drugs within the prison. After the drug supply dries up, the tension that has been building in the prison comes to a head. A huge fight breaks out in the prison's cafeteria, injuring inmates and officers. In the aftermath, lawyers come to the prison often to meet with inmates. One prisoner escapes prison and as he is trying to get away, he fatally stabs a boy from town. The inmate is himself shot fatally seconds later by the boy's father. The killings put Remora on the map; across the country, they become known as the prison town. For the most part, the town returns to normal. The prison keeps the town's economy running.