Carrie White, a naive and insignificant high school student in a small town in Maine, without friends and under the domination of her religiously fanatic mother, daily endures the mockery and contempt of her peers. Gradually, she discovers that she has telekinetic abilities, which she eventually turns against her tormentors.

Although King handles the supernatural element with his usual ease and confidence, the power of "Carrie" lies in the careful narration of the small terrors of the countryside: school bullying, religious fanaticism, adult hypocrisy, teenage sexuality...