A decade passed in chains (8)
I believe the answer is:
twenties
'a decade' is the definition.
(eg the 1920s)
'passed in chains' is the wordplay.
'passed' becomes 'went' (I've seen this in other clues).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'chains' becomes 'ties'.
'went' put into 'ties' is 'TWENTIES'.
(Other definitions for twenties that I've seen before include "what lies ahead for 27 [TEENAGER]?" , "They were roaring in the last century" , "period of years" , "First adult years" , "The decade was said to be roaring" .)