California Correctional Institution (CCI) is a supermax (meaning: a control-unit prison with the most secure level of custody in the prison systems) state prison in the city of Tehachapi in southern California. CCI is sometimes referred to as "Tehachapi prison" or "Tehachapi". As stated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, its overall mission is "to incarcerate and control felons, while providing the opportunity for meaningful work, training and other programs. The prison provides programs for those inmates who are willing to work and participate fully in available programs."

In October 2019, JR received permission to work in this maximum-security prison. Initially, JR went there to meet twenty-eight residents and present an idea for a collaborative, artistic project in the central yard. At Tehachapi, the majority of the incarcerated population has been imprisoned for nearly a decade, with many sentenced to life with no chance of parole.

JR and his team photographed the men, on by one, from above, and they were given a chance to tell their story in front of a camera. No specific questions were asked; they had the freedom to express themselves candidly. JR also photographed formerly incarcerated individuals and prison staff, collecting a total of forty-eight portraits and stories from the prison system.

Two weeks later, JR returned with his team to paste 338 strips of paper on the ground. In just a few hours, the participants, equipped with push brooms and wallpaper glue, worked alongside guards and members of JR's studio to complete the pasting.
From the prison yard, the final installation image is indiscernible. Yet, from above, it becomes clear - incarcerated people, former inmates, as well as the prison staff, and victims stand shoulder to shoulder. The installation, naturally ephemeral, disappeared in three days under the footsteps of the prison's incarcerated population.

This book opens the gates of Tehachapi high security institution, bringing together the installations, the prisoners’ testimonies, their portraits, as well as some reproductions of prisoners' letters.