How do wrongful convictions happen, and what are the consequences for the lucky few who are acquitted, years after they are proven innocent? Fourteen exonerated inmates narrate their stories, while another exoneree's case is explored. They detail every aspect of the experience of wrongful conviction, as well as the remarkable depths of endurance sustained by each exoneree who never lost hope.

The knock on the door: the arrest /Gloria Killian (California exoneree), as told to S.J. Rozan -- The trip to Doty Road: the interrogation / David Bates (Illinois exoneree), as told to Sara Paretsky -- The evidence closes in: the trial / Ray Towler (Ohio exoneree), as told to Laurie R. King -- Just one: the verdict / Michael Evans (Illinois exoneree), as told to Brad Parks -- Descent: entering prison / Ken Wyniemko (Michigan exoneree), as told to Michael Harvey -- The fortune cookie: the lessons learned / Kirk Bloodsworth (Maryland exoneree), as told to Lee Child -- A study in Sisyphus: serving time / Audrey Edmunds (Wisconsin exoneree), as told to Judge John Sheldon and Gayle Lynds -- The wrong man: the cruelties of fate / Alton Logan (Illinois exoneree), as told to Jan Burke -- Luck and the death penalty: community involvement / an essay about Peter Reilly (Connecticut exoneree) by Arthur Miller -- Staying on track: surviving incarceration / Ginny Lefever (Ohio exoneree), as told to Sarah Weinman -- The bloody yellow shirt: obtaining help / William Dillon (Florida exoneree), as told to Phillip M. Margolin -- The long wait: legal appeals / Jeff Deskovic (New York exoneree), as told to Gary Phillips -- The last bad morning: exoneration / Antione Day (Illinois exoneree), as told to Jamie Freveletti -- Moving forward: post release / Jerry Miller (Illinois exoneree), as told to John Mankiewicz -- Every day is a new beginning: life after innocence / Juan Rivera (Illinois exoneree), as told to Laura Caldwell.