At an automotive plant in 1957 Detroit, Michigan, a mechanic listens to the radio inside a new red Plymouth Fury and flicks cigar ashes on its passenger seat. Later that day, the man is found dead inside the car. In 1978 Rockbridge, California, high school senior Dennis Guilder picks up his friend, Arnie Cunningham, on the first day of the new school year. Arnie complains that his parents are unhappy with his decision to take a class in automotive repair, while Dennis recommends that his friend focus his attention on losing his virginity. Arnie dismisses the idea, certain of his lack of sex appeal. At lunchtime, Dennis comes to Arnie’s defense when he is bullied by Buddy Repperton, Moochie Wells, and Rich Cholony. Mr. Casey, a teacher, intervenes and sends the bullies to the principal’s office, where Buddy is expelled for carrying a switchblade knife. On the way home from school, Arnie and Dennis stop at the home of an elderly man named George LeBay, who is selling his late brother’s dilapidated 1958 Plymouth Fury, nicknamed “Christine.” Arnie is anxious to buy the car, despite Dennis’s efforts to discourage him. When Arnie brings the car home, his parents scold him for not asking permission. Arnie complains they control every aspect of his life, and believes they should allow him this one concession. His mother, Regina, refuses to allow him to park the car at the house, so he stores it at Darnell’s Auto Wrecking, where he can rent a repair space and purchase used parts. The proprietor, Mr. Darnell, has a low opinion of teenagers and warns Arnie that he had better be on his best behavior. A month later, however, Darnell is impressed with Arnie’s skill as a mechanic and gives him a part-time job. At school, Dennis tries in vain to romance Leigh Cabot, a beautiful and intelligent new enrollee, and is puzzled by her lack of interest, based on his past successes with the opposite sex. Later, Dennis arrives at Arnie’s house to discover his friend has cancelled their evening plans because of a work obligation. After Arnie leaves, Regina expresses her concern over her son’s obsession with his car, especially after she learned that the previous owner died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Dennis confronts George LeBay on the car’s history, saying that Arnie would never have bought Christine if he had known someone had died in it. LeBay argues that Arnie had the same look in his eye upon seeing the car as the original owner, and nothing could have dissuaded him. He adds that, until his brother committed suicide the previous summer, his only concern was Christine, even after his daughter choked to death inside the car, and his wife was driven to suicide. He even tried to sell the vehicle, but it returned three weeks later. Out of curiosity, Dennis goes to Darnell’s and finds Christine almost completely restored, but also notices that the odometer has regressed several thousand miles. When he tries to open the doors, they lock spontaneously as the radio plays the song, “You Keep A-Knockin’.” Later, during a football game, Dennis is seriously injured while staring in jealous amazement as Arnie arrives with his new girl friend, Leigh. Afterward, Arnie visits Dennis in the hospital, where the two talk for the first time in weeks. Dennis compliments his friend on his success with the car and with Leigh, although Arnie is somewhat mystified by the latter achievement. Arnie also discusses the escalating tensions in the Cunningham family, and the resentment he feels toward his parents. One rainy night, Arnie and Leigh attend a drive-in theater, where she admits to being jealous of Christine. When Leigh is alone in the car, she nearly chokes to death before being rescued by a man in a neighboring vehicle. Leigh asks Arnie to sell Christine, but he ignores her request, bringing the romance to an end. Later that night, Buddy, Moochie, Rich, and their friend, Don Vandenberg, sneak into Darnell’s and vandalize Christine. Arnie is devastated at first, but then realizes the car is magically able to restore itself to mint condition. One night, when Moochie returns to the garage, he is severed in half by the unmanned car. The following day, state police Detective Rudolph Junkins questions Arnie about the killing, but the boy is evasive and flippant. Sometime later, Buddy and Rich discover Christine in pursuit as they drive to a service station where Don is employed. Christine rams Buddy’s car, causing a fuel leak that catches fire and engulfs the station in flames, killing Rich and Don. The vehicle then chases Buddy onto the road and runs him over. When Christine returns to the garage, Darnell opens the car door to find no one inside, then sits in the driver’s seat, where he is crushed to death against the steering wheel. The garage is surrounded by police when Arnie returns the next morning, and Junkins questions the youth on his alibi, then informs him of the four killings the previous night. Arnie is unnerved and excuses himself, explaining that he is late for school. On New Year’s Eve, Leigh telephones Dennis, admitting that she still cares for Arnie but is fearful of Christine. Dennis offers to discuss the matter with his friend, hoping to convince him that Christine is a menace. When Arnie demonstrates that his obsession has driven him to insanity, Dennis decides to destroy the car. Several days later, in the school parking lot, Dennis etches the phrase, “Darnell’s tonight,” into Christine’s hood. That evening, he mans a bulldozer and lies in wait for the car inside the garage, as Leigh takes cover in the office. Christine appears, with Arnie at the wheel, and attempts to kill Leigh, but the collision fatally injures Arnie instead. As the car backs Leigh against a wall, Dennis crushes it with the bulldozer. Later, Dennis, Leigh, and Junkins watch as Christine is loaded into compactor at a junkyard. Though the detective congratulates the youths on their heroism, Dennis still regrets his inability to save Arnie. None of the three notice a slight movement in the metal cube that was once Christine.