A high-ranking but un-named Agent in the British Government resigns from his job/post and leaves for a holiday. While packing he is gassed and is taken to a beautiful but deadly prison known only as "The Village" where people are taken, given a Number to be called by and kept there for the rest of their lives if they don't tell No. 2 (the deputy head of "The Village") the information they are captured for. Escape is nearly impossible as "The Village" has amazing but deadly weapons to use if anybody tries to escape. The Agent is given the title of "No. 6" but he adopts the name of "The Prisoner". The series tells of his attempts to resist the plots of each No. 2 (who is replaced with another if an attempt on No. 6 fails) to get his information and against any attempt to disrupt the nearly peaceful running of the "The Village". The Village is determined to crack The Prisoner by attempting to get the answer to why he resigned from his job/post. As time goes on, two questions plague The Prisoner's mind - How can he escape and who is the real leader of the Village - the mysterious No. 1?.

The Prisoner was filmed in the North Wales resort village of Portmeirion over the course of a year. Patrick McGoohan was inspired to film his series there after filming a couple of "Danger Man" (1960) episodes in the village.

Number 6:
I will not make any deals with you. I've resigned. I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own. I resign.

Revealing mistakes: It was not always possible to mask the existence of civilization near Portmeirion, Wales, where much of the series was filmed. In several episodes neighboring towns and farms can be glimpsed. However, it should be noted the exact size of The Village is never specifically indicated, and there are numerous episodes that indicate it is significantly larger than the core townsite.

Written by Ron Grainer
Performed by Ron Grainer Orchestra