Dune is a 1965 science fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert. As the first in a series of novels, Dune introduces Paul Atreides and his gradual emergence as a unifying, powerful figure in a galaxy filled with political intrigue and the threat of religious war. Now considered one of the foremost examples of American science fiction, Dune won numerous prestigious awards and has been adapted several times in films and television series, most recently in 2021. This guide uses the 2010 eBook version of the text published by Orion Books.

Plot Summary

In the year 10,191, the human race sprawls across the galaxy. Individual planets are ruled by great houses, all of which pledge loyalty to Emperor Shaddam IV. Intergalactic travel is made possible by a mysterious substance known as melange, or “the spice,” which is found only on the barren desert planet Arrakis. Duke Leto of House Atreides rules over Caladan. His concubine partner Lady Jessica is the mother of his only son, Paul Atreides. The Emperor awards Duke Leto the fiefdom of Arrakis, allowing Leto to take control of the profitable but dangerous planet from a rival house, the cunning and brutal Harkonnens. The Duke is certain that he is being lured into a trap by the Emperor and the Harkonnens, but he believes that he can outwit them. Paul has been trained by Leto’s military lieutenants for years, including Thufir Hawat, a Mentat with incredible powers of computation; Gurney Halleck, a soldier with a grudge against the Harkonnens; and Duncan Idaho, the Duke’s swordmaster and faithful servant.

Paul has also been trained by his mother, a member of a clandestine organization of women called the Bene Gesserit. Through a centuries’ long selective breeding program, the Bene Gesserit have tried to bring about the birth of a chosen person named the Kwisatz Haderach, a messianic figure who is destined to bring huge change to the universe. Before leaving for Arrakis, a leading member of the Bene Gesserit subjects Paul to a test of his ability to withstand intense physical pain. He passes, meaning that he may be the Kwisatz Haderach, but he is wary of his prophetic dreams that show his dangerous future on Arrakis, especially among the local desert people known as the Fremen.

House Atreides sets up its operation on Arrakis. They move quickly to secure the cities from the departing Harkonnens. Leto plans to recruit the Fremen as a fierce fighting force after they have spent decades under the oppressive Harkonnen rule. The Fremen are fascinated by Paul and Jessica, who they believe will fulfill an ancient prophecy of a chosen figure who will lead them to glory and turn Arrakis into a water-filled paradise. Jessica, however, believes that this ancient prophecy was deliberately cultivated by the Bene Gesserit.

Before Leto can secure Arrakis, however, he is betrayed by the family doctor, Yueh. By kidnapping the doctor’s wife, the Harkonnens manipulate Yueh into lowering the shields around the city, using the opportunity to invade and reclaim Arrakis in a secretive alliance with the Emperor and the Emperor’s elite Sardaukar warriors. However, Yueh plots revenge against Baron Harkonnen. He plants a false tooth filled with poison in the Duke’s mouth and then helps Paul and Jessica escape into the desert. As Baron Harkonnen brags about his victory to the Duke, Leto bites down on the tooth and fills the room with poisonous gas. The Baron survives but many of his advisors are killed. Thufir Hawat and Gurney Halleck also escape the attack, though Hawat is quickly captured by the Harkonnens and forced into the service of the Baron. Meanwhile, Gurney joins the local smuggling organization and begins to plot revenge against the Harkonnens.

Paul and Jessica flee into the desert. With the help of the planet’s Imperial ecologist, Dr. Kynes, they find the Fremen. Kynes is revealed as a secret leader of the Fremen who plans to turn Arrakis’s hostile, arid climate into something vastly more habitable. A Fremen leader named Stilgar accepts Paul and Jessica into his tribe, but one of the members does not. A Fremen named Jamis challenges Paul to single combat. Paul wins, killing Jamis. Impressed with the Bene Gesserit training exhibited by Paul and Jessica, the Fremen come to believe that Paul is the person spoken about in their prophecy. They make him a full-fledged member of the Fremen while Jessica becomes their Reverend Mother. Paul meets Chani, a young Fremen woman who he previously glimpsed in his dreams. His visions take on a more violent tone, and he fears that he may lead the Fremen in a galaxy-conquering religious war. As he consumes more spice, the substance’s hallucinogenic properties make him even more powerful.

Two years later, Baron Harkonnen continues his plan. He has installed his brutal, slow-witted nephew Glossu Rabban to rule over Arrakis in the cruelest, most oppressive way possible. Later, he will remove Rabban and install his chosen successor—his nephew, Feyd-Rautha—whom he believes will be welcomed as a benevolent hero in comparison to Rabban. Meanwhile, Paul has spent two years in the desert with the Fremen. Under his Fremen title Muad-dib, he has become a powerful and successful military leader. Paul and Chani have a child named Leto II, while Jessica has given birth to Duke Leto’s daughter, Alia. They plot revenge against the Baron and the Emperor, though Paul is wary about his visions of the future.

When the Fremen receive word that the Baron is cutting his support to Rabban, Paul knows that the moment to attack has arrived. He reunites with Gurney Halleck and leads the Fremen against the Harkonnens. The Emperor and the Baron arrive on Arrakis to oversee what they believe to be an easy military victory but are shocked by the raw power of the Fremen. They are quickly overwhelmed. However, Paul’s son is killed during an imperial raid on a Fremen base, and Alia is captured. Seemingly unafraid of her captors, Alia defies the Emperor and kills the Baron with a poisoned needle. Paul wins the battle and demands that the Emperor surrender the throne. Paul plans to marry the Emperor’s daughter and take the throne for himself. He defeats Feyd-Rautha in single combat and exhausts the Emperor’s options. Eventually, the Emperor accepts defeat. Paul takes control of the Imperial throne but still worries that his ascent will bring about billions of deaths in a religious war that now seems inevitable.