影片改编自著名惊悚小说作家斯蒂芬·金的同名小说。泰德(蒂莫西·赫顿 Timothy Hutton 饰)是一位小说作家,曾经,他以乔治史塔克为笔名所创作的恐怖小说让他获得了读者的认同和喜爱。如今,对一切渐渐感到厌倦的泰德决定不再拿乔治史塔克当做挡箭牌,他要用自己的真名写作,为此,他甚至为乔治史塔克准备了一座空坟墓,举行了一场虚构的葬礼。 然而,也就是从这一天开始,小镇上接连发生了多起凶残的凶杀案,而凶案现场上,居然遍布着泰德的指纹。周围发生的一切让泰德开始怀疑,此事和乔治史塔克有着千丝万缕的关联,然而,乔治史塔克,一个笔名,真的能够犯下这些恐怖的罪行吗?When Thad Beaumont was a child, he had an operation to remove a tumour from his brain. during the operation, it was discovered that far from being a tumor, the growth was a twin brother of Thad's that never developed. Years later, Thad is a successful author, writing his serious books under his own name, and his pulp money-makers under the pseudonum "George Stark". When blackmailed by someone who has discovered his secret, Thad publically "buries" George Stark. From that point on, Thad increasingly becomes the prime suspect in a series of gruesome murders.