Twenty-one-year-old Anastasia "Ana" Steele (Dakota Johnson) is an English literature major at Washington State University ("WSU")'s satellite campus near Vancouver, Washington. When her roommate, Kate Kavanagh (Eloise Mumford), becomes ill and is unable to interview Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan), a 27-year-old billionaire entrepreneur, for the college newspaper, Ana agrees to go in her place. At Christian's Seattle headquarters called Grey House, Ana stumbles her way through the meeting. Christian, who is that year's WSU commencement speaker, takes an interest in her; soon after, he visits the hardware store where Ana works. He agrees to Ana's request for a photo shoot to accompany the article for which Ana had interviewed him.
Christian invites Ana for coffee, but he leaves abruptly, saying he is not the man for her. Christian later sends Ana first edition copies of two Thomas Hardy novels, including Tess of the d'Urbervilles, as a gift.
Ana and her friends celebrate graduation at a local bar. After drinking too much, Ana spontaneously calls Christian, saying she is returning the books and berates his behavior towards her. Christian goes to the bar and finds Ana, who passes out. She wakes up the next morning in Christian's hotel room, relieved that they were not intimate.
Ana and Christian begin seeing each other, though he insists that she sign a non-disclosure agreement preventing her from revealing details about their dalliance. Christian explains that he only has interrelations involving bondage that is clearly defined in a signed contract. Ana reveals that she is a virgin. While considering the agreement and negotiating her own terms, and after visiting his "playroom", a room stocked with a variety of BDSM toys, furniture, and gear, she and Christian have coitus.
Christian bestows Ana with gifts and favors, such as a new car and laptop computer. After Ana and Kate move to Seattle, Ana continues seeing Christian. During dinner at Christian's parents, Ana suddenly mentions she is leaving the next day to visit her mother in Georgia. Later, Christian becomes frustrated when Ana expresses she wants more than the one-sided relationship he proposes. She is shocked when Christian unexpectedly arrives in Georgia, they have coitus again but he leaves soon afterward, to tend to an emergency in Seattle.
After returning home, Ana continues seeing Christian, who wants further sexual experimentation. Ana initially consents, but Christian keeps emotionally distant, upsetting her. While still considering the contract, and in an effort to understand Christian psychologically, Ana asks him to demonstrate how he would "punish" her for rule breaking. Christian whips Ana's buttocks six times with a belt. Upset and disgusted, Ana leaves Christian after concluding that he is wrong for her and his practices border on being deviant and excessive.
In an alternative ending, both Ana and Christian experience flashbacks. Christian jogs in the rain, while Ana sobs in her apartment. Christian encounters a gift Ana gave him with the note: "This reminded me of a happy time. —Ana".[5]
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