"Gone Girl" is a novel by author Gillian Flynn. The story follows a married couple, Nick Dunne and Amy Elliott Dunne, from the time they meet and up until Amy goes missing under suspicious circumstances. Amy Elliott Dunne and Nick Dunne are both writers by trade, but when they both lose their jobs, and Nick's mother falls ill with cancer, Nick and Amy move back to Nick's hometown of Carthage, Missouri.

As a New York City girl, Amy is not a proponent of the move. Nick borrows some money from Amy's take on her parents' book series, Amazing Amy, to open The Bar with his twin sister Go. With their marriage failing, Nick starts an affair with one of his college journalism students. One day while Nick is at The Bar, his neighbor calls to say the front door to Nick's house is open and the inside cat is outside. Nick arrives home to find the living room ransacked and his wife missing.

As the investigation proceeds, all clues point to Nick as the primary suspect. After being gone for a little over a month, Amy shows up at Nick's door, claiming one of her former stalkers kidnapped and raped her. Amy, Nick and even the detectives know that Amy was trying to frame Nick for her murder. The problem is that nobody can prove it.

Amy continues to act on a new plan once she returns to Nick. This time, it involves getting pregnant and urging Nick to drop the investigation against her. While this works for some time, right before Amy goes into labor, Nick makes a statement to Amy that just might be enough to set her off on new direction—one where she tries to take Nick down once again.