In the early summer of 1962 in San Francisco, three inmates escaped Alcatraz. Presumed dead, they became the most famous escapees of that inescapable island. What if they survived? On that night there was an unusual heat wave and a calm tide. Perhaps even a stroke of luck. Cincinnatus Jones, the former Frank Lee Morris, is a man reborn. He finds shelter in a deserted cabin in the Oakland Hills. Among the Redwoods in a primordial forest, Cincinnatus finds an unfamiliar yet soothing solace while remaining alert, as he is still a fugitive. He starts painting the nature that surrounds him, imagining he will spend his days as a hermit in the Hills. And then she shows up.

Patsy Billie Vaughan, a schoolteacher for the Warden's and Officer's children on Alcatraz Island, is the owner of the cabin. Does she recognize her unlikely guest? Will she turn him in? Should he run? Cincinnatus makes his decision and then they come. Ghosts of California's railway days, pioneers of the environment, jazz and blues musicians of Oakland's Bottom. But when the four Birmingham Angels appear and later the Kent and Jackson State College students, Cincinnatus is broken open. Why him? He is a man who only wants his freedom. What are the dead trying to teach him and why should he care? Take this risky journey to freedom with Cincinnatus, a man who has never learned to trust or forgive, especially himself. Scape Ghost is the perfect escape.