Regina Allen

With her ready smile and infectious laugh, Regina Allen spent her early years charming everyone she met and living life as a hustler. Throughout her 20's and 30's, she ran check fraud scams and eventually got convicted, resulting in a short prison sentence. We meet Regina upon release from her second stay in prison, for receiving stolen property. Life becomes very complicated very quickly once she gains her freedom. Increasing friction with her oldest daughter Tera, who is raising her two young siblings in their mother's absence, comes to a head over Regina's struggle with methamphetamine addiction. As Regina fights to stay clean, and Tera faces the possibility of losing her yet again, mother and daughter come to understand that getting out of prison and staying out of prison are two very different things.

Aaron Shepard

Almost a decade ago, Aaron "Shep" Shepard was sentenced to one year as an accessory to armed robbery. Since then, he has spent more time in prison on petty parole violations than for his original conviction. A vivid illustration of the "revolving door" aspect of recidivism, Shep has no one on the outside and finds little help in the seemingly endless line of parole agents he must visit on a weekly basis. "My friends are few, and my world is cold," he confides, waiting on a street corner notorious for drug deals-the last place in the world someone like Shep should be waiting.

Richard "Smiley" Martinez

Richard "Smiley" Salazar has the soul of a poet and the scars of a gangster. He spent his childhood bouncing between foster homes, juvenile detention, and life on the streets. His fellow gang members are the only family he has ever known. When he is paroled directly into the heart of gangland San Fernando, Smiley is drawn back to the only life he knows. Soon after, however, a real conflict arises within him between wanting to get out and not being able to escape the lifestyle. The one thing he knows for sure is that he is a 2-striker and the next conviction will land him in prison for the rest of his life. Unlike many parolees, Smiley is a truly talented artist and is able to earn a living doing tattoo work. But for Smiley, his gift and the financial security it provides is small consolation in his battle with the dangerous allure of gangster life.