The series begins with the introduction of Dr. Michael Scofield (played by Wentworth Miller), a brilliant engineer who gets himself incarcerated in Fox River State Penitentiary to break out his brother, Lincoln Burrows (played by Dominic Purcell), who is on death row for a crime he did not commit. Michael's plan is to tattoo the prison's layout and blueprints on his body, allowing him to navigate the complex and ultimately escape.