When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable will. Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.
Harry is a barely functional human. He meets an old friend who is having marital problems as Harry is about to leap off of a bridge. His friend decides that Harry is the man to take his wife away from him so that Milt can be with his girlfriend. Ellen and Harry have an instant attraction and in a short while Harry is wearing Milt's suits and Milt is free. But, Ellen soon discovers that Harry is the world's worst roommate.