本片改编自恐怖小说大师斯蒂芬·金的小说《秘窗·秘园》：一个名叫舒特（约翰·图图罗饰）的陌生人拜访作家雷尼（强尼·戴普饰），声称雷尼剽窃了他的手稿，要求得到相应的补偿。雷尼竭力证明自己的无辜却毫无用处，他从此陷于恐慌之中。更可怕的是他随即发现，这位不速之客的来访，原来只是冰山的一角……

　　下面是舒特与雷尼在剧中的第二段对话，当时雷尼还没有意识到事情的严重性。

　　Shooter：You read it?

　　Rainey：I did.

　　Shooter：I imagine it rang a bell, didn't it?

　　Rainey：Oh, it certainly did. When did you write it?

　　Shooter：I thought you would ask that. I wrote it seven years ago, 1997.

　　Rainey：Drop it.

　　Shooter：Drop it?

　　Rainey：You said you wrote your story in 1997. I wrote mine in late 1994.It was published for the first time in June 1995 in a magazine.Nice try, Mr. Shooter, but I beat you by two years.

　　Shooter：You lie!

　　Rainey：No I don't.

　　Shooter：If we do start to fight, it's not going to end until one or the other of us is dead. Hold your water. I'm just getting my smoke s. I will give you three days. Show me the magazine with your sto-ry in it—if there is such a magazine--and I'll be back.

　　舒特：你读完手稿了？

　　雷尼：读完了。

　　舒特：我猜它让你想起什么来了吧？对不对？

　　雷尼：是啊，是这样。你是什么时候写的这手稿呢？

　　舒特：我就知道你会问这个。我是7年前写的，1997年。

　　雷尼：算了吧。

　　舒特：算了吧？

[1] [2]  下一页