There are books that are simply doomed to success. Henri Charrière's autobiographical novel The Moth became a bestseller immediately after its publication in 1969. In the first three years after its publication, about 10 million copies of this book were printed. Filmmakers were ready to fight for the right to film it. In 1973, the premiere of the film by Franklin Scheffner, based on the book by Charrière (starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman), now rightfully considered a classic of cinema, took place. The author of this story, Henri Charrière, nicknamed the Moth (Papillon), was accused of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. But then the most fantastic of his adventures began. At hard labor in French Guiana, he went through incredible trials, more than once coming close to death. The survival instinct and an indomitable desire for freedom helped him eventually find himself free.