In 1947, Andy Dufresne is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover and is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison. Andy is transferred to the Shawshank Stage Penitentiary, where he is introduced to Samuel L. Norton, warden of the prison, alongside with Byron Hadley, chief captain of the guards. As his sentence unfolds, he meets Ellis Boyd Redding, an inmate also serving a life sentence. Andy is assigned to work in the prison's laundromat, and around the same time, he has various encounters with Bogs Diamond and his henchmen known as "The Sisters", who attack Andy during their encounters.