A privileged New York woman is sentenced to serve time in a federal women's prison after a drug-trafficking conviction from her past catches up with her years later. Expecting to simply endure her sentence, she instead finds herself navigating a complex web of alliances, rivalries, and survival strategies among the prison's diverse population of inmates. The series explores the lives and backstories of the women around her, gradually shifting its focus beyond the protagonist to examine themes of race, class, sexuality, and the failures of the American criminal justice system.