The wide corridor up the centre of E Block was floored with linoleum the colour of tired old limes, and so what was the Last Mile at other prisons was called the Green Mile at Cold Mountain.

Prison guard Paul Edgecombe has seen his share of oddities over the years working the Mile, but he's never met anyone like John Coffey - a man condemned to death for a crime terrifying in its violence and shocking in its depravity.

And in this place of ultimate retribution, Edgecombe is about to discover the terrible, wondrous truth about John Coffey - a truth that will challenge his most cherished beliefs . . .

Evil murderer or holy innocent - whichever he is - Coffey has strange powers which may yet offer salvation to others, even if they can do nothing to save him.