When FBI agent Clarice Starling is assigned a case involving a monstrous serial killer, she seeks counsel from an imprisoned cannibalistic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter, whose fascination with the young woman is as great as his hunger for murder. As their relationship develops, Starling must confront her own demons, and an evil so powerful that she may not have the courage or strength to stop it.

After his car crashes in the mountains during a blinding snowstorm, famous novelist Paul Sheldon is "rescued" by Annie Wilkes, a fan obsessed with the main character in his series of novels. But when Wilkes reads his latest book and learns he has killed her favorite character, she teaches Sheldon the real meaning of "misery." Injured and isolated far from help, Sheldon engages in a desperate battle of wits with Wilkes as she becomes ever more deranged...