Paul Sheldon is the writer of the very successful Misery series of romance novels. When he is injured in a car accident, his legs are broken and he cannot walk. He is taken in by Annie Wilkes, who says she is a nurse. She brings him painkillers, feeds and clothes him and rants on about how she is "his number one fan", even introducing Paul to her pet pig named Misery. Annie reveals to Paul that she was following him the day he got in his car accident, which is how she came to be his caretaker.