Robin Hopwood

Carlin is a new reform school inmate with a reputation as a hard case. The authorities encourage gang leader Pongo to humble Carlin, but Carlin overtakes Pongo as Daddy of the ward. The guards institute a reign of terror and neglect, with Carlin emerging as an unlikely leader.

A prison visitor becomes involved with a convicted sex offender.

The death of a factory owner signals a change for all of the staff, none more so than a sheet metal worker called Watson, who is denied a promised promotion and finds his position as the unofficial leader of the sheet metal workers challenged by Gregg, a new apprentice who joins the factory and isn't willing to follow the accepted order.