In the 19th century, children -- particularly the children of the poor -- were considered to be an exploitable resource of docile and cheap labor. Anyone who had the effrontery to steal so much as a portion of a loaf of bread for any reason would (at the very least) go to prison, regardless of their age. However, people of conscience were beginning to protest against this situation. The story takes place in a prison for children where conditions are particularly harsh. The warden is a thick-headed martinet who demands complete compliance with the rules, or the children will be brutally dealt with. The assistant warden is a more modern man, and is appalled by the whole institution, but seeks to begin by reforming it. To that end, he has invited a journalist to come and see the conditions that prevail there, in the hopes that she will rouse public opinion against at least this one form of injustice.

Wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to death, Richard Kimble escapes from the law in an attempt to find the real killer and clear his name.

Spiritualist Blanche Tyler and her cab-driving boyfriend encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir in California.

Detectives Munro and Sanders are assigned to investigate the murder of an adult film star named Buddy Blue. The hunk was actually killed during the shooting of an orgy scene.

Firemen brothers Brian and Stephen McCaffrey battle each other over past slights while trying to stop an arsonist with a diabolical agenda from torching Chicago.

In New York City, bright but naive New Englander Anne Welles becomes a secretary at a theatrical law firm, where she falls in love with attorney Lyon Burke. Anne befriends up-and-coming singer Neely O'Hara, whose dynamic talent threatens aging star Helen Lawson and beautiful but talentless actress Jennifer North. The women experience success and failure in love and work, leading to heartbreak, addiction and tragedy.