It is thought that agency plays an important role in the transition from the identity of ‘offender’ to ‘ex-offender’. Yet, despite a growing theoretical literature, little is known about how people use agency in their interactions with the social world to achieve valued goals. This article aims to (1) establish whether agentic action is facilitated by the ability to imagine a credible new self and (2) investigate the situational coping mechanisms that desisters use to overcome barriers to change and achieve meaningful lives. It presents the results of an exploratory study which involved in-depth interviews with a sample of adult men who were in the process of desisting from crime. The results suggested that the ability to imagine a credible future self was associated with agency, coping and well-being.