On July 19, 2001, Jeffrey Archer - international best-selling author - is sentenced to four years in prison for perjury. He becomes Prisoner FF8282 and spends the first twenty-two days of his sentence in a high-security prison that house some of Britain's most violent criminals. During those twenty-two days, Archer contemplates suicide; he is allowed out and followed by 100 reporters on the day of his mother's funeral; he's moved to the Lifer's wing because of the security it provides; he becomes a trusted confidant for fellow convicts; and his cell mate sells a story about him to the British tabloids, A Prison Diary is Archer's account of these events.