Paul Sheldon is the author of the successful series of romance novels whose

protagonist is Misery Chastain. He is rescued from a car wreck by a woman

named Annie Wilkes an e!perienced nurse who tells him that she is his
number one fan. She takes Paul to her home and cares for him.
Misery"s Child the #nal book starring Misery Chastain goes on sale. Annie
reads the book and learns of her beloved Misery"s death. Annie holds Paul
prisoner and demands that he write a new book bringing Misery back to life.
A few weeks later he sneaks out of his room to tour the house and #nds
Annie"s scrapbook. He learns that she worked in medical wards across the
Midwest and intentionally caused the deaths of elderly patients and was
charged with several infant deaths. $ried but ac%uitted she thereafter gave
up nursing.
Annie soon #nds out Paul had left his room and &hobbles& him by cutting his
foot o' with an a!e then cauteri(ing the wound with a blowtorch. Another
spat with Annie results in her impromptu amputation of his left thumb.
)ater a police o*cer comes to Annie"s house with a picture of Paul. Paul
throws an ashtray out the window and shouts. $he surprised o*cer doesn"t
notice Annie sneaking up behind him and Annie kills him.
Soon after Paul #nishes the last chapter of Misery"s +eturn and asks Annie for
a cigarette to celebrate the completion of the manuscript. When she returns
he tells her that Misery"s +eturn is the best thing he"s ever written ,, but that
Annie will never get to read it. He then drops the lit match onto the
manuscript on the board across the arms of his wheelchair which he has
doused with a s%uirreled,away bottle of lighter -uid. Annie runs to the pile
and tries to put it out. Paul -ings his typewriter and hits her in the back. She
falls cracking her head on the mantelpiece. $his gives Paul the upper hand
and he takes several handfuls of burning pages and shoves them down her
throat one by one until she lies still.
More police arrive looking for their missing colleague and they #nd Paul
awake in the house. +eturning home Paul is #tted with a prosthetic foot and
submits Misery"s +eturn .which he only pretended to burn/ to his publisher
who tells him that it is certain to become his best,selling book ever. However
Paul su'ers nightmares about Annie until one day he gets an idea and
begins to type a story based on his e!periences.