Based on the book, "The Meanest Man in Texas" is the true story of Clyde Thompson. In 1928, near Cisco, Texas, a young Clyde Thompson finds himself in the wrong place, at the wrong time, in the wrong company. After killing two men in self-defense, he is sentenced to death. Just hours before execution, he is spared the death penalty, and sentenced to life in prison. He is sent to the Texas Prison Farm to serve hard labor. It is here that he is labeled "The Meanest Man in Texas." After several escape attempts, 2 more murders, he becomes impossible to control, and they lock him away in solitary confinement for the duration of the entire Second World War in an old prison morgue. With three life sentences and no hope, he turns to God, and his life changes. He corresponds and eventually falls deeply in love with a woman, Julia Perryman, who is a also a prisoner, of her physical handicap. Through God's grace and their love of each other, they each find freedom.