The terrifying story of a riot that turned every hallway into a hunting ground-and every man into prey. During the early morning of February 2, 1980, the New Mexico Penitentiary erupted into the deadliest prison riot in U.S. history. What followed was a nightmare of shattered doors, seized keys, burning dorms, roaming gangs, and desperate hostages. But nothing matched the terror in the protective-custody cell blocks, where mobs armed with torches and improvised weapons forced their way into cells meant to keep men safe-unleashing hours of brutality almost beyond comprehension. The riot became an explosion of violence born from overcrowding, neglect, and a system ready to collapse. Thirty Six Hours unfolds through multiple inmate perspectives as the prison dissolves into chaos around them. Some fight only to survive the night; others seize the moment to settle old scores with merciless precision. Inside the doomed protective units, the hunted wait in darkness, listening as steel melts, locks fail, and the screams move closer. All are caught in a brutal contest of instinct, fear, and shifting loyalties as the walls themselves become battlegrounds-and every minute brings a new descent into the unthinkable. Told with unflinching realism and grounded in the true events of 1980, this is a historical novel that pulls you into the smoke, terror, and human desperation of a prison in free fall-where every choice could mean freedom, vengeance, or death. Based on the real events that changed American corrections forever.