Henri Charriere, called "Papillon, for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, was convicted in Paris in 1931 for a murder he did not commit. When he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, one thought obsessed him: escape. After planning and executing a series of treacherous yet failed attempts over many years, "Papillon was eventually sent to the notorious prison, Devil's Island, a place from which no one had ever escaped -- that was, until "Papillon. His escape, described in breathless detail, was one of the most incredible tests of human cunning, will, and endurance.

In 1968, more than twenty years after his final escape, Charriere had his astonishing autobiography, "Papillon, published in France to instant acclaim -- a worldwide bestseller describing the gripping, shocking odyssey of the author's imprisonment and escape over a greuling decade.