The diary describes Nick gradually becoming distant, possessive, violent, and demanding to Amy, which causes Amy to become frightened of him. While she and Nick initially have a picture perfect romance, the stress of job loss and the move takes a toll on their relationship. The diary shows Amy as an optimistic, loving, and supportive wife. The narration of the events surrounding the disappearance, told from Nick's perspective, alternates with a series of diary entries written by Amy, detailing the period from the moment she met Nick to the day before her disappearance. As a result, he tries not to reveal that his marriage was troubled, or any other details that might implicate him, which results in him telling a series of lies to the police and detectives.

Nick knows that in cases where a woman vanishes, her husband or boyfriend is often the prime suspect. While initially people are kind and supportive to Nick, he quickly notices that the detectives question him closely and have suspicions. Questions about who might have hurt or abducted Amy raise a number of suspects from her past: Hillary Handy, an obsessed fan of the Amazing Amy books Desi Collings, her prep school boyfriend who had been obsessed with her for years and Tommy O’Hara, Amy’s ex- boyfriend who she accused of rape. Rand and Marybeth are called to assist in the search for their daughter.

The series was written by her parents Rand and Marybeth Elliott, who are child psychologists. The widespread media attention comes in part from Amy's fame as the inspiration for the fictional character in the Amazing Amy book series. By nighttime his house is filled with cops and news reporters. Alarmed by possible signs of her having been abducted, he immediately calls the police. Nick receives a call from his neighbor about suspicious signs at his house and hurries home to find that his wife has vanished. Their marriage was in crisis at the point that Amy disappeared. Amy has never found work or made friends within their new community. Nick now works at a bar he jointly owns with his twin sister Margo, and also teaches at the local community college.

Amy, a native New Yorker, was not thrilled about the decision her husband made without even consulting her, and the move exacerbated the stress created by both Amy and Nick recently losing their jobs.

A few years before, Nick and Amy moved from New York to Missouri, because Nick’s mother, Maureen, was diagnosed with stage four cancer. On that same day his wife Amy Elliott Dunne disappears from their home in North Carthage, Missouri. The novel begins on the morning of Nick Dunne’s wedding anniversary.

The she was gone book