[2] The book centers on Rosemary Woodhouse, a young woman who moves into the Bramford, a historic Gothic Revival-style New York City apartment building, with her husband, Guy, a struggling actor.

Guy has so far appeared only in small roles in the stage plays Luther, Nobody Loves an Albatross, and various TV commercials.

That night, Rosemary dreams of a rough sexual encounter with a huge, inhuman creature with yellow eyes.

The next morning Rosemary finds claw marks on her breasts and groin, which Guy dismisses as resulting from his hangnail, which he has cut.

Rosemary falls severely ill; but her intense pain and weight loss are ignored by others and attributed to hysteria.

[4] David Pringle described Rosemary's Baby as "this sly, seductive impeccably-written horror novel ... is an expertly constructed story, a playwright's book, in which every physical detail and line of dialogue counts.

Roman Polanski, who wrote and directed the film, was nominated for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

The exterior shots of the fictional Bramford apartment were filmed at the Dakota on Central Park West in New York.