Summary

Leslie goes to West Virginia to visit Charlie, a man she met at the Barkley Marathon two years before. Charlie has since been convicted of mortgage fraud and is serving twenty-one months at the Federal Correctional Institution Beckley. Charlie still maintains his innocence but has lost his fiance, access to his children, and more. Leslie first began corresponding with Charlie because she was fascinated by his life. She wonders what incarceration is like for someone who runs so much as an important hobby. Charlie and Leslie became pen pals and he eventually invited her to visit him. Leslie feels guilty about her freedom compared to his incarceration as they share details about their very different lives in their letters.

On her travels through West Virginia to the prison, Leslie visits a friend from college named Cat who tells her about life in the...