The video opens with a dramatized incident in a prison workshop in which an inmate cuts himself on a machine and is bleeding from the hand. As two inmates discuss what to do to help, one cautions that the injured inmate is an IV drug user and may be carrying the AIDS virus. Without resolving the issue, the video moves into its educational format to provide the information inmates will need to protect themselves from HIV infection. Using animated illustrations, the narrator first explains the nature of the human immune system and how the HIV infection can destroy this system to make the host vulnerable to illnesses that eventually cause death. The differences between HIV infection, AIDS Related Complex, and full-blown AIDS are explained, along with antibody testing, symptoms, and how the HIV is transmitted from one person to another through bodily fluids, notably blood and semen. High-risk groups and behaviors are identified, and practical suggestions are offered for avoiding such risky behaviors as sex without the use of condoms and the use of "dirty" needles in IV drug use and tattooing. The video concludes with the resolution of the opening dramatization; one of the inmates secures some latex gloves, renders first aid for the injury, and cleans up the blood on the floor with a disinfectant.