Source plot synopsis — includes the ending
After his family's ordeal at the Overlook Hotel, the traumatized Danny Torrance is followed by its ghostly inhabitants seeking his "shine". When Danny is 8 and after an incident with the ghost lady in his bathroom, Dick Hallorann teaches him how to capture them in psychic "lockboxes". In 2011, Dan has become an alcoholic to suppress his abilities. After moving to New Hampshire, Dan recovers through Alcoholics Anonymous. Working as a hospice orderly, Dan uses the shining to comfort dying patients, earning the nickname "Doctor Sleep". A young girl named Abra Stone, whose shine is even greater than Dan's, telepathically reaches out to him, and the two form a psychic friendship.
A separate plotline follows the True Knot, an old cult of psychic vampires led by Rose the Hat. They feed on "steam", a psychic essence released by torturing and killing people who possess the shining. By 2019, as the number of potential prey dwindles, the group has begun starving. They recruit teenage Andi, who has the power of suggestion, but their gruesome killing of a young baseball player traumatizes Abra, who alerts Dan. Rose, who senses Abra's clairvoyance, and later becomes connected to her while shopping, becomes intrigued. Rose infiltrates Abra's dream but is trapped by Abra, who proceeds to rummage through Rose's memory to learn about the cult. Convinced that Abra's immense powers will supply them with steam for years to come, Rose sends the True Knot members after her.
Abra divines the crime scene's location and meets Dan in New Hampshire to give him the information and implore him to help her stop the True Knot. Dan recruits his friend Billy and Abra's father, Dave, to help. They set up an ambush and kill most of the cult, but Billy is killed by Andi before she dies and Dave is killed by Rose's partner, Crow Daddy, who kidnaps Abra. Dan possesses Abra and causes Crow Daddy's car to crash, killing him.
Knowing Rose is coming for them, Dan brings Abra to the now-abandoned Overlook, which is equally dangerous for Rose. Dan sets the hotel's boiler to overload, while briefly confronting an apparition of his father and rejecting an offer to drink.
Rose arrives and overpowers Dan, but he releases the Overlook's occupants from his lockboxes. Drawn to Rose's power, the ghosts devour her before possessing Dan in a bid to make him kill Abra so they can feed on her steam. He goes to the boiler room and regains control before the hotel can make him deactivate it. As fire erupts, he sees a vision of himself as a child being comforted by his mother Wendy. Abra escapes as the Overlook burns down.
Sometime later, Abra speaks to Dan's spirit, who comforts her, telling her to "shine on". Abra tells her mother that Dan and Dave are okay. She then confronts an Overlook ghost and imprisons it in her psychic lockbox.
A separate plotline follows the True Knot, an old cult of psychic vampires led by Rose the Hat. They feed on "steam", a psychic essence released by torturing and killing people who possess the shining. By 2019, as the number of potential prey dwindles, the group has begun starving. They recruit teenage Andi, who has the power of suggestion, but their gruesome killing of a young baseball player traumatizes Abra, who alerts Dan. Rose, who senses Abra's clairvoyance, and later becomes connected to her while shopping, becomes intrigued. Rose infiltrates Abra's dream but is trapped by Abra, who proceeds to rummage through Rose's memory to learn about the cult. Convinced that Abra's immense powers will supply them with steam for years to come, Rose sends the True Knot members after her.
Abra divines the crime scene's location and meets Dan in New Hampshire to give him the information and implore him to help her stop the True Knot. Dan recruits his friend Billy and Abra's father, Dave, to help. They set up an ambush and kill most of the cult, but Billy is killed by Andi before she dies and Dave is killed by Rose's partner, Crow Daddy, who kidnaps Abra. Dan possesses Abra and causes Crow Daddy's car to crash, killing him.
Knowing Rose is coming for them, Dan brings Abra to the now-abandoned Overlook, which is equally dangerous for Rose. Dan sets the hotel's boiler to overload, while briefly confronting an apparition of his father and rejecting an offer to drink.
Rose arrives and overpowers Dan, but he releases the Overlook's occupants from his lockboxes. Drawn to Rose's power, the ghosts devour her before possessing Dan in a bid to make him kill Abra so they can feed on her steam. He goes to the boiler room and regains control before the hotel can make him deactivate it. As fire erupts, he sees a vision of himself as a child being comforted by his mother Wendy. Abra escapes as the Overlook burns down.
Sometime later, Abra speaks to Dan's spirit, who comforts her, telling her to "shine on". Abra tells her mother that Dan and Dave are okay. She then confronts an Overlook ghost and imprisons it in her psychic lockbox.
Sources and content license
Source and revision history ↗ · Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Doctor Sleep (2019 film). Section headings and formatting adjusted. · Content license