The action of the novel takes place in the city of Chester’s Mills in the state of Maine. On one “absolutely normal, beautiful autumn day,” the residents discover that their town is surrounded by an invisible but impenetrable shield, which causes airplanes and cars to crash against it. No one knows where the dome came from or whether it can be gotten rid of. The book features about a hundred characters, including a war veteran from the Persian Gulf, the owner of the local newspaper, a feldsher, a sinister politician and his son hiding a “terrible secret in a dark closet.” According to King, the new novel has motives similar to those explored in “The Stand,” but they are resolved “in a more allegorical way.”