At the beginning of the story, Erin defines her freedom in terms of moving about at will and doing what she wishes. She compares herself to the three prisoners she’s filming and feels badly for them because their lives have been constricted to a prison for so long. As the story progresses, Erin learns freedom is a state of mind, rather than of being. After Mark’s betrayal, Erin’s view of freedom shifts. Though she is still physically free to do what she wants, her thoughts imprison her. Like Holli, Alexa, and Eddie earlier on, she looks toward the future, when her situation will hopefully be different.

Alexa, Holli, and Eddie each view freedom differently and have different plans for when their prison sentences end. Holli thrives off the crime she committed. In her interview with Erin, Holli seems most alive and present discussing how she set the bus on fire. After her release, she immediately goes back to a life of crime, which persists through the end of the book. For Holli, freedom is about taking any action she wishes, regardless of its legality. Though Alexa spent the longest time in prison, she never acted like a prisoner or like her life was reduced to a building.