Fascinating stories of the age-old tug-of-war between prisons desperate to keep inmates inside and the escapees pursuing freedom.

A convict who returned to the prison he had recently escaped from to foment a mass breakout; a murderer on the run who veered from folk hero to persona non grata after killing a police dog; a fugitive from the United States who was recaptured in Canada after she was featured on America’s Most Wanted — these are just a few of the felons whose prison break adventures continue to enthrall and terrify.

Along with probing the origins, structure, and failings of a collection of historic and contemporary correctional institutions, On the Lam brings into sharp focus the attempts of masterminds, tricksters, villains, and innocents to claw their way to freedom — sometimes successful, sometimes abortive, often deadly.