It is based on the true story of a British-Tanzanian man, Thomas McFadden, who was apprehended in 1996 at La Paz airport in Bolivia with five kilos of cocaine in his suitcase and incarcerated in San Pedro prison.

[1] The book, described as "a gripping expose of life inside" and "the current must-read on the gringo trail",[2] was released in 2003 and became a bestseller and a cult classic, having sold over 600,000 copies.

Rusty Young, a twenty-four-year-old law graduate, was backpacking in South America when he heard about Thomas McFadden, a convicted English drug trafficker who ran tours inside Bolivia's famous San Pedro Prison.

"[3] Marching Powder tells Thomas's story from when he arranged what he believed to be a routine cocaine-smuggling operation using a trusted airport contact.

After this, the book chronicles Thomas's difficulties with the Bolivian justice system, the corruption of the court process and how he was betrayed by his lawyers.

On a chaperoned night away from the prison, for which Thomas had paid a large bribe, he befriended an Israeli backpacker and regaled her with stories of his life in San Pedro.

One reviewer summed up the position as follows: "It is hard for a Westerner to comprehend that these are actual events – the stories of violence, of endemic corruption and blatant unfairness, are so incredible, they seem to be a well written novel.

[5] In 2015, Rusty and Thomas reunited and returned secretly to the prison to film a segment for Australia's Sunday Night program.