The story takes place in
Maine and is told from the perspective of
Shawshank State Prison inmate Ellis "Red" Redding, a 57-year-old
Irish-American. In 1938, Red staged a car accident, having previously insured his wife for a large amount, but a neighbor and her child also got into his wife’s car. As a result, Red was sentenced to three
life sentences for the murders. Red is known for his ability to smuggle in almost any contraband via his connections. In 1948, he is approached by former bank vice president Andy Dufresne, a prisoner who arrived at Shawshank a year earlier. Dufresne was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife and her lover, despite his claims of innocence. He asks Red to get him a
rock hammer, explaining that he is collecting minerals. A year later, Andy requests a large poster of
Rita Hayworth. He gets into several fights with a gang of
prison rapists led by Bogs Diamond, which end after Bogs is severely injured by the guards; Red suggests that Andy bribed the guards into doing so. One day, Andy overhears guard Byron Hadley complaining about the
tax imposed on an inheritance he had recently received and offers help in resolving this issue. Hadley accepts the offer and treats all the prisoners to
beer in gratitude. Over the years, Andy provides financial advice to the prison administration and assists with tax returns and loans. He is transferred to the prison library, in which he
launders money for the prison administration. He also seeks funding from the
Maine Senate to expand the library, which he hopes will better prepare prisoners for life after release. Andy meets Tommy Williams, who tells him that his cellmate from another prison bragged about committing the murders that Andy was convicted of. Andy attempts to use Tommy's testimony to get his case reconsidered, but the
warden, Samuel Norton, does not grant his freedom, as Andy knows too much about the administration's money laundering scheme and is too valuable as an accountant to release. Hoping to break Andy's spirit, Norton places him in
solitary confinement for 20 days and transfers Tommy to another prison. While in confinement, Andy refuses to continue accounting but complies when Norton threatens to worsen his living conditions and destroy the library. In October 1967, Andy tells Red about "Peter Stevens", a
pseudonym under which Andy had sold off his assets and invested the proceeds. He says that one day Peter Stevens will own a seaside resort hotel in
Zihuatanejo,
Mexico. On the morning of March 12, 1975, after 28 years in prison, Andy disappears from his locked cell. Norton discovers that the poster pasted to Andy's cell wall covers a man-sized hole – Andy had used his rock hammer to slowly dig a tunnel through the wall. Norton resigns three months after Andy's escape, and six months later, Red receives a blank postcard from
McNary, Texas, a town near the Mexican border, and surmises that Andy crossed the border there. In March 1977, Red is
paroled but has difficulty adjusting to life outside of prison. He finds a letter addressed to him from Peter Stevens containing $1,000 and inviting him to join Andy in Mexico. Red decides to break his parole and join Andy. ==Adaptation==