: The boys encounter "Eleven," a girl with psychokinetic abilities who escaped from a secret government lab.

Set in November 1983, the story begins when 12-year-old mysteriously vanishes on his way home after a Dungeons & Dragons session. His disappearance triggers a chain of events involving:

: His mother, Joyce, and Police Chief Jim Hopper lead a desperate search while his best friends (Mike, Dustin, and Lucas) launch their own investigation.