The daily lives of prisoners in Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison where ingroups stick close to their mutual friends and terrorize their mutual enemies.
In the 'Emerald City' experimental unit of Oswald State Penitentiary, we meet some of the diverse inmates who exist in a pecking order of Gangbangers, Latinos, Muslims, Westies, Aryans and Wiseguys.
With Schibetta and the prison brass in a race to uncover Ortolani's killer, we see how inmates react to visits both from their wives and, family members who are also in prison.
Friction is growing in the wake of two deaths so Said, Wiseguy leader Schibetta and Gangbanger Jefferson Keane are brought together by Warden Glynn, who tells them to keep their boys quiet or else he'll lock the prison down.
Governor Devlin has reinstated capital punishment in the state--and the first Oz prisoner scheduled to die is Jefferson Keane, who killed a Latino in their skirmish.
The infiltration of drugs into Oz has reached scary levels, and the efforts of McManus and Glynn to find out who's smuggling backfire in a deadly way.
Ricardo is discovered to suffer from Alzheimer's; Beecher flips out and sends Schillinger to the hospital; mob boss Schibetta develops stomach problems thanks to some ground glass; and Said has a heart attack.
A recovered Said ostracizes Huseni Mershah for turning his back on him when he was dying--and orders all the Muslims to cast him out.
After a visit with his sons, Schillinger realizes he needs to get paroled. He convinces McManus to let him return to Em City with the condition that he leaves Beecher alone.
Beecher is still in the hospital after Schillinger and Keller broke his bones, Alvarez is still in solitary for blinding Rivera, Adebisi is back in the kitchen and McManus starts dating a newly arrived CO.
No one knows who killed Metzger. Meanwhile, McManus hires his friend Sean Murphy as a C.O. and he launches a boxing program.
In the boxing program, O'Reily spikes Robson's spritzer bottle before his bout with Cyril. Rebadow's mother tries to persuade him to meet his son and grandson.
O'Reily and Keller plot to take care of Andrew. McManus is forced by prison brass to settle Howell's sexual-harassment suit.
Wangler 'finds out' his wife and her lover were murdered execution-style. Meanwhile, Poet and Pierce get burned by Hernandez, Ricardo and Guerra. Lockdown ensues, and Wangler finds himself vulnerable--and in a cell with Adebisi.
With Cyril scheduled to box Pancamo, O'Reily plans to use his spray-bottle trick, but first he must deal with Cudney.
Adebisi accuses McManus of sexually harassing Wangler. Bellinger meets with McManus and requests execution by hanging. Just one problem: she's pregnant.
s the new millennium approaches, things are heating up in Em City as racial tensions mount.
Oz re-opens in the wake of major renovations that had to be completed following a gas explosion.
McManus thinks White may reform if he spends quality time with Said; Alvarez offers Guerra a unique solution to their dispute; O'Reily's mother, Suzanne Fitzgerald, begins a community service term teaching music at Oz.
Brass wants to know who cut his tendon; Redding and Morales form another uneasy alliance; Rev.
Penders, Hill and Alvarez are given a chance to train seeing-eye dogs; Martinez gives Brass a 'cocktail' he definitely didn't order; the love triangle between Beecher, McClain and Keller becomes more complicated.
Robson stirs up problems between White and Said. Meanwhile, Pancamo's illness might save some work for his enemies, Schillinger makes a friendly but suspicious overture towards Beecher, and Morales seeks revenge on his sister's abusive husband.
As Cyril's trial gets off to an inauspiciously cold start, tensions between Mukada and Kirk come to a boil.
Hill's recovery leads to renewed friction between Redding and Morales, Alvarez gets his wish as the 'Man's Best Friend' program is finished and Meehan presents some revolutionary ideas to help Cyril.
Robson goes to extremes to remedy his gum dilemma, Meanwhile, McManus struggles with personal turmoil over his decision to stay at Oz and Rebadow deals with his grandson's fate.
Alvarez and Schillinger are let out of solitary and placed back in general population.
The unexpected arrival of Mayor Loewen at Oz spurs an ironic turn involving Schillinger and Beecher.
Tobias learns who killed his father before being released from prison. Cyril begins shock therapy while receiving an execution date.
Glynn receives mixed news on the toxic-poisoning problem. Meanwhile, Rebadow's relationship with the new librarian Stella hits a snag, Keller and Beecher work out an agreement, and Robson finally gets some redemption.
Arif and the others have trouble getting Augustus' book published. Tobias confesses to Chris he's started dating someone on the outside.
New inmate Idzik faces his enemies and requests a transfer. Meanwhile, the Loewen case grows increasingly complicated, the Muslims run into business trouble, and the inmate population comes together to support the O'Reilys.
Three new inmates arrive at Oz, one of whom is particularly close to the O'Reily clan.
Querns is appointed the new warden of Oz. Brass attempts to get famous for a day. Tim tries to change the mindset of Said's murderer.
In the aftermath of the riot that killed six inmates and two officers, Oz is locked down, and Emerald City prisoners are sent either to solitary or gen pop.
Ten months after the riot, Em City is reopened. A recovered McManus creates a council of group representatives to keep order, and initiates classes to help inmates get high-school equivalency diplomas.
Alvarez knows who raped Glynn's daughter, but refuses to tell the warden. Wangler is making progress at school, but his cellmate, Adebisi, isn't a fan of higher education.
Augustus Hill's appeal is denied, despite the efforts of Said, who has better luck with Poet's poems. Meanwhile, O'Reily survives his lumpectomy, and now focuses his attention on Dr. Nathan.
With their enmity at a boiling point, Adebisi poisons Schibetta--but not fatally. Now that his brother has turned himself in for murder, Glynn no longer owes Schibetta any favors.
Schillinger attempts to enlist Said to get him out of jail. Recovered from being poisoned, Schibetta is brutalized by Adebisi, losing 'control' of Oz.
Cyril O'Reily, Ryan's brother, is imprisoned and falls under Schillinger's control. Ryan tries to get him away into Em City, but Cyril winds up in the hole.
Wittlesey is transferred to general population and replaced by Karl Metzger, a Nazi.
The world of Oz--an experimental prison within a prison known as the Emerald City--reopens its doors with the inmates still on a 24-hour lockdown and prison officials struggling to end the hostilities.
The African-American inmates point the finger at McManus for letting Em City get out of hand.
Glynn learns from Adebisi that he was given the gun by former C.O. Hughes. Morales enlists Rebadow's help in taking Hernandez's place in the drug ring run by Adebisi and Pancamo.
Em City gets a new Unit Manager, Martin Querns, whose methods are hardly orthodox. Beecher's torment over his missing children is worsened when Schillinger presents him with an unexpected package.
As Querns implements his new course of action, the dynamics of Em City start to change, causing friction with Officer Murphy.
n an effort to reduce violence, white inmates are transferred out of Em City. Said and Arif talk to Querns about the negative impact of his changes, but their efforts are in vain.
With things wild in Em City, O'Reily begins a surprising affair. Zabitz asks Schillinger for protection from Keller--who tries to get into the rehab program to make amends with Sister Pete.
After Hughes' attack on Devlin, Glynn withdraws from the race. Miguel Alvarez is still on the loose. Supreme Allah receives an unwanted surprise.
Six months have passed. Said was acquitted of Adebisi's murder on grounds of self-defense. "Up Your Ante," a game show, has joined Miss Sally in the prisoner's TV lineup.
New inmate Burr Reading arrives, ready to take charge of the African-American drug scene. Dr. Nathan returns to Em City, and finds the biggest adjustment is dealing with her feelings for O'Reily.
Morales looks to pit the Chinese against Redding. Alvarez offers Glynn his services as an informant as a way out of solitary.
O'Reily regrets getting Cyril involved with the trial drug when it starts taking effect. Meanwhile, Giles' request for an unusual execution creates controversy and the Chinese refugees are deported...but not before plotting revenge on Morales.
O'Reily is in for a surprise when a visitor reveals the truth about his past, while Cyril faces trouble for his difficult behavior.
McManus calls a superficial truce between Redding and Morales. Basil finally sees his wife, but Hughes ends up spoiling their happiness.
McManus can't turn his back on White. Beecher tells the parents of the girl he killed that he's up for parole.
Hill discovers where his true allegiances lie in Oz. Redding's plot to use the Colonel against Morales has an unexpected outcome.
