It is the year 2031, as the spores of the Flower of Life spread over the remains of the SDF-1 and SDF-2, the Invid land out of Hyperspace, on a head-on collision with the Earth. They crash on the spot, quickly turning it into their massive hive, later to be called Reflex Point. In a matter of moments, the Invid take control of the devastated planet.

Novelist Paul Sheldon crashes his car on a snowy Colorado road. He is found by Annie Wilkes, the “number one fan” of Paul’s heroine Misery Chastaine. Annie is also somewhat unstable, and Paul finds himself crippled, drugged and at her mercy.