The Princess Bride recap

On a farm in Florin, the beautiful Buttercup and the farm boy Westley fall in love, but Westley sails away to make his fortune and is reported killed by a fearsome pirate. Years later Buttercup, resigned to a loveless marriage with Prince Humperdinck, is kidnapped by three outlaws and rescued by a masked man in black who turns out to be Westley, alive and now living as that same pirate. Humperdinck recaptures them, and Westley is tortured to death by the sadistic Count Rugen, only to be revived by a retired miracle worker. With the swordsman Inigo and the giant Fezzik, Westley storms the castle. Inigo avenges his murdered father by killing Count Rugen, Westley defeats Humperdinck without killing him, and the four escape together, their future left deliberately uncertain by the storytelling narrator.

On a farm in the country of Florin, a beautiful young woman named Buttercup takes for granted the poor farm boy Westley, who does whatever she asks and always answers, 'As you wish'. Only when he leaves to seek his fortune across the sea does she understand that they love each other. Soon afterward comes news that his ship was attacked by a pirate famous for sparing no one, and Buttercup, believing Westley dead, vows never to love again. Meanwhile the reader is introduced to Prince Humperdinck, heir to the throne of Florin, a keen hunter who must find a bride to satisfy his father and the demands of the realm.

Prince Humperdinck settles on Buttercup as his future princess. She agrees to marry him despite feeling nothing for him, resigned to a loveless match. Before the wedding she is kidnapped by three strangers working together: a boastful Sicilian mastermind named Vizzini, a huge and gentle wrestler named Fezzik, and a Spanish swordsman named Inigo Montoya who dreams of avenging his murdered father. Their plan is to kill Buttercup and leave evidence framing a neighboring kingdom, giving Humperdinck a pretext for war. As they flee by boat and then climb toward a mountain pass, they realize that a mysterious masked man dressed all in black is following them, gaining steadily, and none of them can shake him off.

The man in black overcomes each of Buttercup's captors in turn: he duels and defeats the master swordsman Inigo, wrestles down the giant Fezzik, and outwits Vizzini in a deadly contest involving poison. Left alone with Buttercup, he is at first harsh with her, but soon reveals himself to be Westley, alive after all. He had not died at the pirate's hands; instead he had taken on the identity of that very pirate, the Dread Pirate Roberts, and has come back for her. Their reunion restores Buttercup's hope, and together they try to escape Prince Humperdinck, who is close behind and determined to reclaim his bride.

Fleeing through the treacherous Fire Swamp, Westley and Buttercup survive its dangers only to be caught by Prince Humperdinck. To save Westley's life, Buttercup agrees to return to the prince, but Humperdinck breaks his word and has Westley imprisoned and tortured on a cruel machine devised by Count Rugen, killing him. The swordsman Inigo and the giant Fezzik, now allies, seek out the retired Miracle Max, who revives the barely living Westley. The three storm the castle during the royal wedding. Inigo confronts Count Rugen, recognizes him as the six-fingered man who killed his father, and kills him in a duel. Westley bluffs the cowardly Humperdinck into surrender and spares his life. Buttercup is freed, and she, Westley, Inigo, and Fezzik ride off together, with the frame narrator leaving open whether their happiness truly lasted forever.

Westley and Buttercup are reunited and freed. The prince's plot to murder Buttercup and start a war has failed, and Humperdinck is left alive but humiliated, bound and beaten by Westley's bluff. Count Rugen is dead, killed by Inigo Montoya, who has finally completed the revenge that shaped his whole life and is now unsure what to do with himself; Westley suggests he might become the next Dread Pirate Roberts. Fezzik provides horses for their escape. Westley, still weak from his ordeal, rides away with Buttercup, Inigo, and Fezzik as pursuit gathers behind them. The narrator, keeping up the conceit that he is merely abridging an older tale, declines to promise a clean happy ending, remarking that the characters faced further hardships and that life is not always fair, and leaving their long-term fate open.