Rosemary's Baby recap

Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse move into the Bramford, where their elderly neighbors Minnie and Roman Castevet quickly take an intrusive interest in them. Guy's acting career abruptly improves after he befriends the couple. When Rosemary becomes pregnant, the Castevets steer her to Dr. Sapirstein and control her diet while dismissing her severe pain. Hutch investigates but dies after arranging to send Rosemary a clue, which helps her identify Roman as the son of a notorious occultist. She concludes that the neighbors are a coven and seeks help, only to be returned to them. After a drugged delivery, Rosemary is told her baby died, but she follows its cries into the Castevets' apartment. There she learns that Guy traded access to her for success and that Satan fathered the child during a ritual. Although appalled, Rosemary's response to the crying infant becomes maternal, and she begins to take an interest in his care.

Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse lease an apartment in the Bramford despite their friend Hutch's warning that the old building has a long history of violence, suicide, and occult residents. Rosemary is delighted by the space and hopes it will become a family home, while Guy concentrates on his uncertain acting career. In the basement laundry room, Rosemary meets Terry Gionoffrio, a young woman taken in by their neighbors Minnie and Roman Castevet. Terry shows Rosemary a strong-smelling charm Minnie gave her. Soon afterward Terry falls to her death from the Bramford. At the scene, the Woodhouses meet the grieving Castevets, whose apartment adjoins their own. Minnie responds to the connection by pressing an invitation on the younger couple, beginning a relationship Rosemary accepts as neighborly kindness even though she finds Minnie's manner overwhelming.

The Woodhouses dine with Minnie and Roman. Roman's stories and attention appeal to Guy, who begins visiting the older couple on his own after first mocking them. An actor competing with Guy for an important role suddenly goes blind, allowing Guy to take over the part; further opportunities follow. Guy, now unusually attentive, agrees that he and Rosemary should try for a baby. Minnie gives Rosemary Terry's old pendant, which contains the pungent substance called tannis root. Rosemary wears it despite disliking the smell. Guy selects a particular night for conception and Minnie brings them chocolate mousse. Rosemary becomes ill and tries to discard it, but Guy insists she eat more. She grows heavily drugged and realizes that Guy is undressing her rather than letting her sleep normally.

While drugged, Rosemary experiences a confused ritual in which naked people, including Guy and the Castevets, surround her. A nonhuman figure assaults her while the others watch. She protests that the event is real, but afterward Guy says he had sex with her while she was unconscious because he did not want to miss the planned night. Rosemary is disturbed by scratches on her body, yet accepts the experience as a nightmare mixed with Guy's admission. She soon learns she is pregnant. After initially seeing Dr. Hill, she allows Minnie and Roman to recommend the prominent Dr. Sapirstein. He tells her to stop reading pregnancy books and prescribes a daily drink prepared by Minnie instead of ordinary vitamins. The Castevets' involvement in the pregnancy becomes constant, while Guy treats their attention as helpful.

Rosemary suffers months of severe abdominal pain, loses weight, and develops cravings for raw meat. Dr. Sapirstein repeatedly assures her that nothing is wrong and discourages outside advice. At a party limited to the Woodhouses' younger friends, Elise and others are shocked by Rosemary's condition and urge her to seek another doctor. Rosemary finally resolves to do so, but the pain abruptly ends and she feels the baby move, restoring her confidence in Sapirstein. Hutch visits and is alarmed by her appearance and by the tannis-root charm. He arranges to meet her after researching something, then unexpectedly falls into a coma. Rosemary remains surrounded by Minnie, Laura-Louise, and the Castevets' friends, who monitor her food and health with an intensity she still tries to interpret as concern.

Hutch dies without recovering, but a friend delivers the book he meant Rosemary to receive along with the message that a name is an anagram. Using the book's account of witchcraft, Rosemary rearranges Roman Castevet's name and identifies him as Steven Marcato, the son of Adrian Marcato, a notorious former Bramford resident. She comes to believe that Roman leads a coven, that the tannis-root pendant marks its influence, and that the group has manipulated Guy's career and her pregnancy. Guy dismisses the accusation and removes the book, which deepens her suspicion that he is involved. Rosemary secretly gathers her belongings and prepares to seek independent medical protection before the baby is born, no longer trusting Sapirstein or anyone connected to the Castevets.

Rosemary reaches Dr. Hill and tells him that a coven is threatening her baby. He appears to shelter her but contacts Guy and Dr. Sapirstein, who take her back to the Bramford. She goes into labor under sedation and later wakes to be told that the baby died. Suspicious of the explanation and hearing an infant through the wall, she finds a concealed doorway into the Castevets' apartment. The neighbors and their associates are gathered around a black cradle. They reveal that Guy aided them in return for his improved career and that the ritual joined Rosemary with Satan, making her child his son. Roman names the infant Adrian and urges Rosemary to become his mother. She is horrified by the baby's unnatural eyes and by what was done to her, but the child's crying evokes a maternal response. Rosemary questions the group's handling of him and approaches the cradle, beginning to accept a role in his care while rejecting Guy's attempt to excuse his betrayal.

After escaping to Dr. Hill, Rosemary is returned to Guy and Dr. Sapirstein, drugged, and delivered of her baby at home. She is told that the child died, but she continues to hear an infant crying through the wall. She discovers a concealed entrance into the Castevets' apartment and finds the neighbors gathered around a black-draped cradle. They reveal that Guy cooperated with them in exchange for success and that Rosemary's child was fathered by Satan during the drugged ritual. Roman calls the baby Adrian and presents him as the heir around whom the group has gathered. Horrified by the infant's unnatural eyes, Rosemary nevertheless responds to his crying as his mother. She questions how the group is caring for him, suggests a gentler way to rock the cradle, and begins to approach it. The novel closes with her maternal attachment drawing her toward the child even after she understands what he is, while Guy remains outside the new bond he helped create.