When the "Captain Trips" flu epidemic wipes out more than 99% of the population, the remaining few immune to the disease set out in search of other survivors, all the while, experiencing visions of the nurturing Mother Abagail and the menacing figure of The Dark Man.

Musician Larry Underwood is on the cusp of his big break when "Captain Trips" strikes New York. Alone and wandering an empty city, he meets an alluring new acquaintance also desperate to escape. Meanwhile, an incarcerated Lloyd Henreid comes face-to-face with Randall Flagg, The Dark Man himself, who makes him an enticing offer.