There are more than 130 penal establishments in England and Wales.In light of this Norman Dempsey, governor of Malom prison, is shocked to learn that his prison is to be used as the location for an intelligence gathering less than a year since a similarly ill-conceived scheme was aborted in the wake of serious security and control risks.Dempsey's concern deepens when he encounters the architects of the proposed new scheme and realises the paucity of their planning.