The novel begins simply enough. Arnie, the prototypical geek with nerdy glasses, pimples, and no social life outside of Guilder, falls in love. But it's not with a woman; it's with a 1958 Plymouth Fury named Christine. And Christine is no ordinary car, either. She's got a life all her own, and that life is cold, dark, and jealous. She inhabits Arnie as he inhabits her, and she becomes his obsession. As the car brings about some good (his pimples are rapidly fading and he finds confidence to ask the new girl in school, Leigh Cabot, out on a date), most of what Christine delivers is evil. Arnie's enimies start being run over and killed. His familial relationship explodes from its normal complacency into a feverish war of wills. Even Dennis becomes distant. Now you ask, is Christine haunted? Maybe. We know the Fury's previous owner, Roland LeBay, was a mean spirited man who also made the car his obsession. We also know that his daughter, Rita, choked to death in it. So, does his spirit haunt Christine? Maybe. The fact that LeBay's daughter chokes (or is choked) to death while LeBay is still alive may lead us to choose the idea that Christine was malevolant the moment she rolled out of the factory.
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