James "Animal" Allen (Ving Rhames) took the fall for the crimes of his older son (Vicellous Shannon) and is now serving a life term at Folsom Prison. When his younger son, James Jr. (K.C. Collins), is framed for murder, Allen refuses to let two men from the same family submit to life imprisonment for crimes they didn't commit. When he learns that James Jr. was set up by someone at the prison, he resolves to win his son's freedom. To do this, he must return to his violent brawler roots.