It depicts one man's experience in the New York City prison system. Interviews with a professional bondsman, a State supreme court judge, the director of the Manhattan Bail Project, and others illuminate the seemingly overwhelming problems of the criminal justice system in dealing with this situation. To help alleviate the conditions faced by the poor trying to obtain bail in New York City, the Manhattan Bail Project was implemented with support from the Vera Foundation. The project enabled certain accused persons to be released without bail. Over 2,200 persons were released under the project. In New York City, over 50,000 persons have been held in detention over 1 month; 13,000 of these persons were adolescents. In Baltimore, 75 percent of people charged with a crime cannot raise bail. The economic effects of being detained are devastating to the persons charged, their families, and to the criminal justice system, which must pay to keep them in jail.