A decorated former policeman, Tim takes a job as a local patrolman and soon develops a relationship with a deputy, Wendy Gullickson.

Luke befriends several other kids: Kalisha Benson, Nick Wilholm, George Iles, Iris Stanhope, Helen Simms and later ten-year-old Avery Dixon, in the area known as Front Half.

The staff of the Institute, led by director Mrs. Sigsby, are dedicated to extracting the special talents from the children–known as TPs (telepaths) and TKs (telekinetics).

Experiments and torture are performed on the children to try to enhance their talents, as well as to awaken TP abilities in TKs and vice versa.

The Institute's deteriorated security takes almost a day to realize Luke's escape, by which time he has found himself on a train, which he jumps off of in DuPray.

Meanwhile, Luke manages to convince Tim, Wendy and other police officers of his story and gives the Sheriff a USB stick containing a confession from Maureen, along with a harrowing video taken secretly in Back Half.

As the gas is released, Avery, Kalisha, Iris, George, Nick, Helen and the others join and fight back, managing to levitate areas of the Institute into the air.

"[5] Booklist's Carl Hays praised the novel, saying, "King devotees will, of course, devour this latest suspenseful page-turner, but any reader looking for a smart thriller about an unusual black ops organization will find this compelling and rewarding.

"[7] Talking of Mrs. Sigsby and the people at the Institution, Laura Miller of The New York Times said "Of all the cosmic menaces that King’s heroes have battled, this slow creep into inhumanity may be the most terrifying yet because it is all too real.

[9] King noted connections between the novel and some of former President Donald Trump's actions, including "Children, seeking asylum at the border ... being removed from their parents under the administration’s family separation policy.