Ana’s story is of passion, love, and sex. After meeting the character of Christian, she realizes that his world is not for a shy and naïve girl like her. However, she pushes on and falls deeper and deeper for a man whose heart is as cold as ice.

‘Spoiler-Free’ Summary

‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ begins with Ana filling in for her roommate, Kate’s interview with a billionaire. On reaching her destination, Grey Enterprises, she gets directed to meet the CEO for the planned interview. She tries to act natural, but her clumsiness leads to a devastating fall in the CEO’s office, setting her into a panic.

On getting her grip, she comes face to face with Christian Grey and becomes intimidated by his presence. After asking him the questions set by Kate, she leaves and returns home.

Life goes on for Ana as she returns to work at a hardware store. However, by planned coincidence, she meets Christian while working. After helping him with the tools he wanted to purchase, he hands her his phone number. She asks him for a picture because Kate needs one from him. He agrees to a photoshoot, and after the shoot, she goes on a date with him.

A falling out between Christian and Ana occurs during the date, making her leave him. She goes out to a party and drunk dials him. Soon, she lets him into her life as she slowly opens to him. He reveals his explicit sexual desires to her, and though she knows she has no experience, she accepts his request to become a submissive.

Finally, after a fight between her and Christian, Ana decides to leave him as she realizes that his world is far different from hers.

Plot Summary of Fifty Shades of Grey

Spoiler alert: important details of the novel are revealed below.

The story of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ begins with Anastasia Steele, a young final-year English student at Washington State University. Ana agrees to interview the CEO of Grey Enterprises after her friend, Kate, comes down with the flu. She travels to Seattle to meet the CEO. On reaching Grey Enterprises, she becomes agitated because of the intimidating look of the gigantic company. After meeting the secretary of the CEO, she gets cleared to enter his office. However, before she enters, she trips and falls. Feeling like her world will crumble, a hand reaches out to help her, and on raising her head, she is awed by the strikingly-handsome CEO, Christian Grey.

After introducing herself, Ana begins to ask the Christian the questions written by Kate. However, she diverts and starts asking Christian questions not written by Kate. Intrigued by her genuine curiosity, he offers her an internship position which she declines.

Ana returns home with all the answers to Kate’s question, and though she tries to forget about Christian, she finds herself obsessively thinking about him. She resumes work at Clayton’s Hardware Store, and while working, she gets shocked to see Christian right in the store. She asks him what he is doing in Washington, and he replies that he is on business. While talking to him, Paul Clayton, Ana’s employer’s son, walks in on them. She notices that Christian’s demeanor rapidly changes till Paul leaves. After attending to him, he gives her his phone number.

Before handing her his number, she tells him that Kate needs a picture of him. He agrees to a photoshoot, and she employs the help of her friend, Josei. After the photoshoot, Christian invites Ana on a date. While on the date, he asks her if she was together with Josei or Paul, and she replies no. Abruptly, he tells her he is not the right person for her, and after saving her from an accident, she leaves him feeling devastated.

After getting her first heartbreak, Ana gets invited to a party, and for the first time, she gets drunk. She dials Christian’s number and abruptly cuts the call before telling him where she is. Josei finds her outside and tries to kiss her. She refuses, and before anything escalates, Christian appears from nowhere. He tells her of his hotel in Washington, and though she tries to maintain herself, she faints and wakes up in Christian’s bed. He calms her by telling her nothing happened between them. On returning home, Ana meets Kate with Elliot, Christian’s brother. She realizes Kate has fallen for Elliot. 

Christian asks Ana on another date, and after the date, he takes her to his house on a helicopter. He lets her in on his secret sexual BDSM lifestyle and tells her about being a submissive and the rules she will have to read to become one. After showing her his red playroom, she tells him that she has never had sex before. Ignoring the contract and deal, he has sex with her. The next day, Ana meets Christian’s adopted mother, Grace, for the first time.

Christian gets Ana a new computer, and they begin exchanging emails. Ana realizes that she is falling for Christian. With her realization comes sadness. Jokingly, she tells him goodbye, but he drives to her house, surprising her. After reading about BDSM dominance, she decides to ghost him. On her graduation, Christian makes a speech as he gets invited as a guest by Ana’s school. She introduces him to her stepfather, Ray.

Christian buys her a new car as a graduation present, and for the first time, he spanks her 18 times during sex. After the sex, he leaves, and She starts crying because she has realized that she has fallen for a man who is not interested in love. Christian returns to her apartment after she lets him in on her feelings. She tells him about how bad she feels when he never reciprocates any emotion to her, and he spends the night at her house.

The next day, Christian gets Ana a new phone and meets Doctor Greene, who prescribes contraceptives for her. After the prescription, she has sex with Christian in the red room. He invites her to a family dinner, and while at the dinner, she reveals her plans to visit her mother, Carla, in Georgia. While boarding the flight, Ana realizes that Christian made her ticket to first class. In Georgia, he surprises her with a visit. She discovers that he went out with Mrs. Elena Robinson. Ana tells her mom that she feels out of place because she knows she has fallen in love with Christian.

On returning to Washington, Ana gets a job at Seattle Independent Publishing. On breaking the news to Christian, they have sex, and curious to know everything about how extreme BDSM gets, Ana asks him to show her the furthest they will go. He whips her with a belt while telling her to count, and after the experience, she realizes she is not the one for Christian. She leaves him and returns to live with Kate.

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