Rebecca is the story of the rich Maxim and a young woman known only as the Second Mrs. de Winter. Maxim's wife has recently died a terrible death, and he is still in mourning. Maxim meets the Second Mrs. de Winter while on holiday where she is the companion to a wealthy woman named Mrs. Van Hopper. The couple meet, fall in love, marry, and return to Maxim's home, Manderley.

At Manderley, the Second Mrs. de Winter finds that things are not quite what she expected. Rather than a welcoming homecoming, the Second Mrs. de Winter finds that everyone is suspicious of her, and she is unable to live up to the expectations set by Maxim's first wife, Rebecca.

As the story unfolds, the suspense builds until we finally discover that Maxim and Rebecca never loved each other and that the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, was obsessed with Rebecca...