Intent on writing a book on the notorious Marsten House, an old, rumor-filled property atop an alleged haunted hilltop, the successful novelist, Ben Mears, returns to his peaceful hometown of Salem's Lot, Maine, after years of absence. There, Mears discovers that a pair of new tenants already reside in the sinister house, the eerily cryptic newcomer, Richard Straker, and his elusive business partner, Kurt Barlow; an occurrence that coincides with unaccountable disappearances and a spate of unusual deaths. Before long, the worried townsfolk start pointing the finger at the newly arrived Mears, as well as Straker and Barlow, who, now, have become the main suspects in a peculiar and thorny case. Who is behind the veil of terror that shrouds Salem's Lot?