Falsely accused

The events of Prison Break were triggered by the conviction of Lincoln Burrows – a petty criminal framed for the murder of Terrence Steadman, the brother of US Vice President Caroline Reynolds. Burrows was heavily in debt at the time, as he had borrowed $90,000 to pay for the university education of his intelligent, sensitive younger brother Michael Scofield (who took their mother's maiden name since their father had disappeared before he was born).

To pay back the debt, Lincoln was forced to be the hitman in a sinister plot to assassinate Terrence Steadman. However, on arriving at a car park to do the deed, Lincoln found Steadman slumped in his vehicle, already murdered. Lincoln was sentenced to death after being falsely implicated by a security tape which had been doctored to show him shooting Steadman. So, rather ironically, Lincoln was framed for a crime he had actually been prepared to commit...

The good brother

Lincoln was sent to Fox River in the run-up to his execution – the very prison his brother Michael Scofield had worked on as a structural engineer. Michael therefore hatched a daring plan: he would deliberately bungle a robbery to get himself sent to Fox River, where he would use his knowledge of the building to break both of them out.

To ensure he'd remember every last detail of the prison, Michael covered his entire upper body with a vast, intricate tattoo whose gothic imagery incorporated a coded blueprint of the Fox River facility. Lincoln had got into debt to allow Michael's career to prosper – now Michael was determined to use his skills to save his brother's life.

Allies and enemies

Once inside the prison, Michael was forced to recruit a number of convicts to help mount the escape. Initially they consisted of his cellmate Fernando Sucre, who helped dig the escape tunnel, and John Abruzzi, a powerful mobster who agreed to organise air transport for the escapees. T-Bag, one of the most ruthless and sadistic inmates, also became involved after discovering the plan, as did a good-hearted convict named C-Note.

Michael also formed a flirtatious rapport with prison doctor Sara Tancredi – he needed her on his side, as his plan involved using a tunnel to access the infirmary, where they would use a window to make their escape. Michael also struck up an uneasy friendship with prison warden Henry Pope, an honourable man who believes in rehabilitating rather than punishing his prisoners.

Unravelling the conspiracy

While Michael and his allies worked against the odds to put their plan into action, lawyer Veronica Donovan – an ex-girlfriend of Lincoln's – worked on the outside to prove his innocence. She worked on the case with Nick Savrinn, an attorney who specialised in exonerating the wrongfully convicted.

As they gathered evidence that Lincoln had been framed, they found themselves stalked by two sinister secret agents named Paul Kellerman and Danny Hale. The agents attempted to kill Veronica and Nick, and succeeded in murdering Lincoln's ex-girlfriend Lisa Rix – framing her and Lincoln's son LJ Burrows for the crime. LJ was forced to go on the run, but Hale came to regret his actions and tried to help Veronica and Nick. He was duly shot dead by Kellerman for his betrayal.

Secrets revealed

The truth behind the conspiracy to convict Lincoln was finally revealed by his own father, Aldo Burrows, who reappeared seemingly from nowhere. Aldo confessed that he'd once worked for "the Company" – a shady organisation of big businessmen who secretly influence the US government. Vice President Caroline Reynolds was revealed to be in their grip, as was a corporation run by her brother Terrence Steadman.

Aldo Burrows originally went into hiding after trying to expose Steadman's connection with the Company. To force him back into the open the Company decided to fake Steadman's murder and frame Aldo's son Lincoln for the crime. A homeless man was killed to serve as the decoy corpse while the real Steadman was whisked to a secret location. To ensure the truth wasn't discovered, Vice President Reynolds ordered her agents Kellerman and Hale to intimidate or kill those close to Lincoln – forcing Veronica and Nick to go on the run.

The escape and aftermath

Michael's escape from the prison complex went according to plan, with some assistance from prison doctor Sara Tancredi. The final group was made up of Michael, Lincoln, Abruzzi, T-Bag, C-Note and Sucre – along with two late additions named Haywire and Tweener. (A ninth member, Charles Westmoreland, died during the escape, but not before revealing to Michael the whereabouts of his buried fortune.)

Meanwhile, things went rather badly for Lincoln's allies on the outside. His son LJ was arrested on suspicion of killing his mother and step-father, while Nick Savrinn was shot dead after refusing to cooperate with mobsters connected to John Abruzzi. The series was left on a very uncertain note, with Veronica heading off to locate Steadman, while the villainous Caroline Reynolds became the American President after poisoning her predecessor. Dr Sara Tancredi, sick with guilt for helping Michael escape, overdosed on morphine and was found in a critical state, and as for the escapees themselves… Well, they didn't get to Abruzzi's escape plane in time, and were last seen fleeing on foot with cops closing in rapidly. It was on this cliffhanger that season one came to an end.

What next?

Season 2 will pick up eight hours after the first series ended, catching up with the escapees as they try to evade federal agents led by the obsessive Alexander Mahone (who shapes up to be Michael's nemesis). The fleeing convicts pursue their own separate agendas, with Michael and Lincoln trying to locate LJ and somehow get their hands on Westmoreland's secretly stashed fortune. However, while they have their individual objectives, the "Fox River Eight" will find their fates inextricably linked as the net closes in around them...