It's Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary on a sunny summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri. When Nick's clever and attractive wife leaves, presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't helping himself by daydreaming about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary suggest the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone on edge. Under increasing pressure from the police and the media, as well as Amy's adoring parents, the town's golden boy parades a never-ending string of lies, deceptions, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is strangely evasive, and he's clearly bitter—but is he a murderer?