The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: King, Stephen. Later. Hard Case Crime, March 2, 2021. Kindle.

In the horror story/crime thriller Later by Stephen King, James “Jamie” Conklin details his coming of age, a loss of innocence that is expedited because he has the unique ability of being able to see and converse with the dead. Jamie opens his story on the day that he proved to his mother, Tia Conklin, that he had talked to Mona Burkett, the dead wife of their next-door neighbor, Marty. Mona told Jamie where she had hidden her wedding rings, rings her husband had been unable to find. Tia found those rings where Jamie said they would be. Tia warned Jamie not to tell anyone else about this ability because she feared he would be exploited.

Jamie describes how his mother’s financial situation deteriorated drastically during the Great Recession of 2008. Tia and her brother, Harry, had invested a good deal of money in a fund that was found to be a Ponzi scheme. Tia believed the only thing that would financially save her and her literary agency was the concluding novel that a bestselling author, Regis Thomas, was writing for his loved Roanoke series.

Tia was desperate when Regis died with only about 30 pages of his final novel finished. Tia took Jamie to Regis’ home to see if Jamie could locate Regis and ask him about the plot points for the novel he had been writing. She planned to write the novel herself following the notes she would glean from Regis using Jamie’s ability to communicate with dead people. Jamie was angry with his mother because she had made him promise not to tell anyone what he could do. Yet, Tia told Liz, her live-in girlfriend, that Jamie could talk to the dead.

Tia managed to write Regis' novel, improving her financial situation. Meanwhile, Tia and Liz were having arguments that were becoming more frequent and more intense. One morning, Tia discovered two pounds of cocaine in Liz’s jacket. She broke off the relationship with Liz and asked her never to return.

Tia had promised not to tell Liz’s superior officers at the police department where Liz worked as a detective about the cocaine. Jamie describes that he later learned that Liz’s superior officers had suspected Liz was a dirty cop. She was in danger of losing her job. One day Liz approached Jamie at school and told him she needed him to help her with a case. Kenneth Alan Therriault had been identified as the bomber who used the nickname Thumper. To keep from being arrested, Therriault shot himself. He had a note pinned to his shirt that stated there was one more bomb. Liz wanted Jamie to make Therriault tell him where that bomb was located.

Jamie helped Liz because he worried about the people who would die if he did not help. Jamie notes that he realized later that Liz was more worried about saving her job than saving people. Therriault did tell Jamie the location of the bomb. Jamie comments that dead people must tell the truth when asked a direct question. However, unlike the other dead people with whom Jamie had communicated, Therriault continued to visit Jamie frequently. He said that Jamie would never be free from him.

Jamie talked to Marty Burkett, his next-door neighbor, about Therriault. Marty, a literature professor, said that based on what he knew about ghosts and demons from literature and his personal research, it appeared that Therriault had been possessed by a demon. Marty said it was unlikely Jamie could exorcise the demon, but he might be able to live with it if he was able to best it in a battle of wills that he referred to as the Ritual of Chüd.

One day when Jamie encountered Therriault, he engaged him in this battle of wills, the Ritual of Chüd, by grabbing and holding onto Therriault. Therriault succumbed to Jamie, giving Jamie power over him. Therriault was to leave Jamie alone unless Jamie whistled for him. When Jamie told Marty the story of the battle of the wills, Marty warned Jamie to leave the demon alone and never to whistle for it.

Years later, Liz met Jamie after school again. She had lost her job when she tested positive for drugs. Jamie did not recognize Liz because she had lost weight and aged because of her drug use. He refused to go with her until she played a recording she had made during his conversation with Regis. Liz warned him she would share the tape with a news reporter and ruin his mother.

Liz took Jamie to the home of Donald Marsden, a drug lord. Liz believed that Marsden had received a large shipment of OxyContin, a drug with a high street value. She claimed Marsden had died of a cerebral hemorrhage. She wanted Jamie to find out from Marsden’s ghost where the drugs were hidden. At Marsden’s estate, Liz insisted they would find Marsden’s ghost in his bedroom. Jamie was shocked that Marsden was still alive. Liz had been there, tied the man to his bed, and tortured him, but he had not told her where the drugs were. When Jamie commented that Marsden was not dead, Liz shot Marsden in the head.

Marsden directed Jamie to a panic room where Marsden claimed he had hidden his stash of drugs. Liz was angry when she realized Marsden had lied about the shipment. Jamie drew Liz’s attention to a stack of photographs showing Marsden and a friend torturing Marsden’s wife to death. Liz asked Jamie if he was glad that she had killed Marsden, an attempt to justify the murder. Fearing that Liz was going to kill him as well, Jamie distracted her and ran. He tripped on the stairs and feared Liz would catch him so he whistled for Therriault. Jamie ordered Therriault to save him from Liz.

Liz, who was coming down the stairs when Therriault appeared was pulled by the demon into a mirror. She began laughing hysterically as she pulled away and followed Jamie down the stairs. Liz fell down the stairs, breaking her neck. Jamie erased the recording Liz had of his conversation with Regis. The police decided that Liz had kidnapped Jamie because she believed she would be able to escape more easily if she had a child with her.

Jamie moves forward in the story of his life again. He received a call from his mother that Harry was dying. Jamie went to the nursing home, but Harry died before Jamie arrived. Jamie asked his dead uncle if he knew who his father was. Harry said that he was Jamie’s father. Jamie faced his future bravely. However, he lived in fear he would have early-onset Alzheimer's, like Harry did, and that he would one day have to face Therriault again.