Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker's crime spree ended violently in the early morning of May 23, 1934. After their having evaded the law for almost two years, a posse composed of police officers from Texas and Louisiana intercepted the couple on a highway near Sailes, Louisiana. Ordered to turn themselves over to the law, Bonnie and Clyde instead attempted to flee. The officers opened fire, killing the duo almost instantly. There is no indication that Bonnie and Clyde, even at the very end, ever considered disbanding their criminal cooperative.

Such teamwork is the stuff of legends, but we might wonder what would have happened if the story had ended differently. Suppose that Bonnie and Clyde had met with a less fiery end, an end similar to that of Al Capone: being arrested on charges of tax evasion. To make the story interesting, suppose that, after being arrested, taken to prison, and placed in separate isolation cells, Bonnie and Clyde both receive a visit from the district attorney. The district attorney, speaking to each in private, lays his cards on the table: he knows that Bonnie and Clyde are each guilty of far worse things than tax evasion, but confesses that he can't prove it. However, if one person turns state's evidence against the other, the district attorney promises that he will give the helpful soul a minimal sentence while throwing the book at the other.