Roland and his friends are aboard the Blaine train, where they make a last-ditch attempt to outwit the computer-controlled train as it races to certain death. Only at the last second can they save themselves. The desolate 'other world' in which they arrived is extinct - humanity has been wiped out by a plague. As they approach a green glass palace in the far distance, Roland tells of his former life: a tragic story of youthful love, betrayal, intrigue and murder, in which a mysterious glass ball plays a fateful role. Biography (Stephen King) Stephen King, born in 1947 in Portland, Maine, first worked as an English teacher before he made his breakthrough in 1973 with his first novel 'Carrie'. Since then, he has been considered one of the most successful writers in the world. In November 2003, he received the National Book Foundation's Special Lifetime Achievement Award. Stephen King lives with his wife Tabitha in Bangor, Maine.