Former Army Ranger Cameron Poe is sentenced to 7–10 years in prison for using excessive force on a drunk man while trying to protect his wife Tricia. Poe meets parole 8 years later, and is to be released after being flown to Alabama on the Jailbird, a C-123K transport prison plane, along with several other prisoners including his diabetic cellmate and friend Mike "Baby-O" O'Dell for transfer to a new Supermax prison. The transfer is being overseen by U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin, as the transfer includes notorious criminal mastermind Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom. Larkin is approached at the last minute by DEA agent Duncan Malloy and his agent Willie Sims, who ask for Sims to be brought aboard disguised as a prisoner so that he can extract more information from drug lord Francisco Cindino, a pris