In Stephen King’s novel Misery, Paul Sheldon’s accident occurs near Sidewinder, Colorado.
Paul has just finished Fast Cars, a serious novel he hopes will move him beyond his commercially successful Misery romance series. After celebrating with champagne, he drives through a heavy snowstorm instead of traveling by air. The worsening conditions cause his car to crash, leaving him with devastating injuries, including two shattered legs.
Annie Wilkes finds Paul near the wreck and takes him to her isolated farmhouse outside Sidewinder. She presents herself as his devoted “number one fan,” but her refusal to contact a hospital soon reveals that Paul is effectively her prisoner. She forces him to write a new Misery novel after learning that he killed off the beloved character.
Sidewinder is fictional, so it should not be confused with real locations such as Flagstaff, Arizona, or Beatty, Nevada. The film adaptation also changes some setting details, which can cause mix-ups: the novel’s accident and central setting are specifically associated with Colorado.