A Long Day in a Short Life unfolds within the indifferent passage of time behind the walls of Washington District Jail, where a group of inmates endures the monotony and isolation of prison life. Once innocent children, they are now marginalized figures, stripped of freedom, and shut out from society with little hope of return.

Each prisoner carries a story: some are convicted of violent crimesassault, manslaughter, murderwhile others are imprisoned for forgery, theft, or nothing more than the circumstances of their birth. In this stark, unflinching portrait, Walter Bernstein (writing as Albert Maltz) delivers a searing critique of the penal system and a deeply human reminder that behind every conviction lies a person, shaped by forces far beyond their control.