Red begins the narrative by recounting his own criminal history and the reason he ended up in Shawshank prison. Red married into a family more affluent than his own impoverished family. He discovered that he was not well-suited for life as a company man as he worked his way up in his father-in-law’s business. Red became unhappy and eventually developed an extreme hatred for his wife. Knowing that she had a life insurance policy, Red decided to murder her while making it look like an accident. He disengaged the brakes in his wife’s car, assuming that only she would be killed. However, on the day she died, she was transporting a neighbor and the neighbor’s infant son. It was evident to authorities that this was no accident: Red was found guilty of all three murders. He was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences, because, as he points out, in Maine there is no death penalty.

Red discusses his ability to get things from outside brought into the prison. He contends that in every prison, there is a person like him who knows how to get things. He discusses the nature of rehabilitation; all he can say for himself is that if he could do it over again, he would not have killed his wife.