On the fifth anniversary of the marriage Nick Dunne goes to the bar “Bar” to see his sister Margo to discuss his marital life and an unbearable wife. But when he returns home, Amy, his wife, is not there. Furniture and broken glass are scattered in the house and Nick calls police. The search for the missing Amy Elliott-Dunne begins, which is rapidly becoming widely publicized in the media. Detectives ask Nick about his wife's work and friends, but he can not answer the questions. It becomes known that the couple moved from New York after Nick's mother became ill with cancer. Police find blood spots in the kitchen and a letter-riddle in Amy's lingerie.
One day after the disappearance Nick and the parents of Amy speak at a press conference. The disappearance of the prototype of the main character of the children's books "Amazing Amy", sponsored by her parents, is becoming the main event in the news feed. The puzzle that is found in Amy's words leads to a second puzzle, which in turn leads Nick to his father's cabin ("Brunch House"). There he finds an envelope with another note from his wife.
The film is often interrupted by flashbacks, in which Amy writes in a diary memories of life with Nick. First meeting, job loss, moving to Missouri, constant quarrels. Amy tells about how unbearable her husband was, how he beat her for the first time, how she began to be afraid of him and how she decided to buy a gun. "He may kill me" - the last entry in the diary.
After all these events take place the scene with Amy safely driving in a car is shown. Some time ago sh found that Nick was unfaithful to her so came up with a plan to get him into prison for hr murder. She planned every detail very carefully and went away to a campground to wait for Nick being accused. She has enough money with her to have a careless living. But there in the campground a couple of young people, suspecting Amy of running from someone, rob her of all her money and she has to look for help somewhere. She calls her ex-boyfriend Desi and tells his a dreadful story of her life, how Nich cheated on her and beat her.
Three days after disappearance Margo finds that all this time Nick had a mistress. Meanwhile, a lot of volunteers are going to search for Amy. And Nick is more and more discredited. His incomprehensible behavior is highlighted in the press as a sign of sociopathy. It turns out that Amy was pregnant, an incomprehensible list of purchases follows (dog robot, golf clubs, TV, etc.) and huge debts on the credit card. Everything points out that Nick himself killed his own wife. He becomes the main suspect.
Nick hires a lawyer Tanner Bolt and meets with his wife’s former boyfriends.
Detectives Rhonda Boney and officer James Gilpin find in the basement a burnt-out diary of Amy Dunne. They arrest Nick, but Tannner Bolt manages to set him free. Tanner offers Nick to perform on the talk show Sharon Schieber (Village Ward), on which he will have to tell about his mistress Andie.
On the seventh day of disappearance Nick carefully prepares for the interview, but Andie performs with the truth faster. However, Nick does not give up on the talk show. The conversation with Sharon Schieber in a live broadcast drastically changes the attitude of people to Nick Dunne. But still it does not save him from suspicion and arrest.
Meanwhile Desi takes Amy to his lake house. He is still in love with her and wants to travel with Amy abroad to start a new life. Amy sees that Desi might be a problem and pretends to answer for his feelings. When she finally seems to be cured she wants to make love with Desi and at that moment she cuts his throat. After 30 days of disappearance Amy returns home all in blood and exhausted. She faints into Nick’s hands under the flashes of cameras.
She tells a story of how she was kidnapped and raped by Desi. Amy’s story is taken warmly and with sympathy by society but Nick knows that his wife is a monster. Amy artificially inseminates herself with Nick’s sperm and thus ties him to herself. Nick has no way out as feels responsible for the child and stays with Amy.
