Amid the Maples IV, The Phoenix, opens with the sentencing of Paul Stivers. Maple City''''s abuse of the Stivers family has finally succeeded in sending Paul to prison. The dismal and menacing existence forced on Paul behind bars leaves him remorseful, bewildered, and emotionally defeated. In prison, Paul discovers that his vast wealth is a liability. Many of his guards and fellow inmates wish to persecute him for causing the death of his childhood sweetheart. However, Paul soon realizes that is false; their true resentment is his wealth. As Paul''''s struggle to survive in the brutal world of the confined unfolds, he finds a flickering of hope. Despite many setbacks, the possibility of freedom slowly develops. With the help and encouragement from unsuspected sources on both sides of the walls that confine him, Paul steadfastly seeks escape from persecution. His restrained but relentless campaign to free himself is a tribute to honorable men who seek only justice from an amoral society corrupted by social prejudice and hypocrisy.