Max woke up in a wonderful world. No Upside Down. No Vecna. Everyone was happy. They said she got in a car accident. Her step-brother, Billy, isn't a bad person, just a little rough on the edges. They said her hallucinations are part of the trauma response. Her boyfriend is worried about her, as well as her friends Mike and Dustin. She has forgotten something, she feels, but she doesn't know what. However, she can't forget El, her best friend. In her coma-induced dream, there was this girl who single-handledly saved her life.
But life goes on. She goes to the therapist. She goes to the movies with Lucas, she learns to play DnD. Life goes on, and she still can't forget Jane. She sees her everywhere. Sometimes, she wakes up screaming and she can swear something is deeply wrong with everything around her. But what can she do? Everyone's right! Her stories are crazy! Like, monsters and parallel dimensions who would even believed that! So she tries to move. For an instant, she almost starts to believe. This was the best outcome. Everyone is alright. Nothing ever went wrong.
Until Mike Wheeler goes crazy too, talking about a person named Will Byers who doesn't even exist. The next day, Will Byers appears and has apparently been one of Max's best friends since they're twelve. Memories start to appear, memories Max knew she didn't have before.
With Mike, they piece together a terrifying picture: this reality might not exist. While looking for answers, Max ends up on Terry Ives' doorstep. But it's not Terry who opens the door: it's a girl way too familiar, a girl who had once saved Max's life.
And Max Mayfield meets Jane Ives, an El who has never been taken by the Hawkins lab.