The plot of the book is quite interesting as it takes true events and weaves a fictional tale around the events that take place in the early 1900s. The story focusses on the plight of the prisoners and how it affects their psyche. The book goes into detail of how the days pass by and how David Barclay uses various contraptions and strategies to torture the prisoners. The storytelling is interesting, but the extent of detailing is a bit too much which goes against the interesting plot.