Paul Sheldon's car is hurled off the road as a result of a snowstorm, which lands near Annie Wilkes' private property. The crash has caused a bilateral fracture of Paul's legs and rendered him unconscious. He is rescued by Annie a short time later, and wakes up in her house. She first appears to be a kind, nurturing caregiver, and Paul allows her to read his manuscript in exchange for saving him. However, when it is revealed that Paul's best known character, Misery Chastain, is going to be killed off, her true colors show. She then forces Paul to burn his manuscript and she tells him to write a new one. She also gives Paul potent medication that will serve a double effect, numbing the pain whilst keeping his imagination active for writing. While Paul writes, he tries to escape several times. When she learns this, Annie brutally breaks Paul's ankles with a sledgehammer in an act of "hobbling", and says to him, "God I love you."Later in the movie, after investigating Paul's disappearance, Sheriff Buster decides to check out Annie's house and he eventually finds Paul locked up in the basement. Before he can free him, Annie kills him with a shotgun and she then tries to kill Paul as well, but he convinces her to let him finish the novel. Eventually, he manages to finish the novel and he tells her to get him some wine. When she comes back, Paul say she did good, but tells her to bring him another glass, to which she does. Right when she leaves, Paul is about to set the book on fire, but he waits until Annie comes back. When she does, Paul sets fire to the paper in front of Annie, who begs him not to do it, to which Paul asks why not since he learned it from her, and he proceeds to set the whole manuscript on fire. As a panicking Annie tries to put it out, Paul bashes her over the head with the typewriter. When she falls backwards, Annie finds her arm on fire, to which she manages to put it out. Enraged, Annie attacks Paul and swears for the first time, calling Paul "a lying cocksucker", prompting Paul to blind her in one eye with his thumb and punch her in the face. On the floor with blood pouring from her eye, Annie takes out her gun and shoots Paul in the arm but this doesn't faze Paul and he tackles Annie and wrestles her on the floor. During the struggle, Paul bangs her head against the floor and shoves the burnt paper in her mouth, telling her to "eat it 'til you choke you sick, twisted fuck". Annie kicks Paul in the crotch and he rolls off of her but he trips Annie and she falls, hitting her head on the typewriter. Thinking she's dead, Paul crawls to the door, but Annie wakes up and jumps onto Paul's back, continuing to attack him. Paul then manages to bite Annie's hand and throws her off of him. He then grabs a metal pig statue that Annie uses as a doorstop and smashes her in the face with it, crushing her skull and killing her.
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