Ted Conover introduces the reader to Sing Sing prison through a description of his morning routine as a correction officer. The text opens with a brief snapshot of the earliest days of prison construction: in 1826, the first block of Sing Sing prison is built by prisoners who have been transferred from Auburn, New York. An officer originally tells Conover that the prisoners quarried marble from the opposite bank of Sing Sing to build the first cell block; much later, Conover learns that the officer was mistaken, and that Sing Sing’s site was picked because marble and other stone already existed underfoot. The 1826 cell block is still standing today, and when present-day inmates complain to Conover about their cell conditions, he tells them about “how it used to be: two men sharing a three-and-a-half-by-seven-foot cell, one of them probably with TB, no central heating or plumbing, open sewer channels inside, little light” (1).

Conover describes a fellow officer, Aragon, who comes from the Bronx and always places the anti-theft device known as The Club on his steering wheel. Conover finds this interesting because he considers the prison parking area to be one of the most secure places in the country; however, Conover thinks it is reasonable for a person to be “a little lock-crazy” (1).