The Girl on the Train Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
The Girl on the Train follows Rachel Watson, a lonely woman who drinks too much and rides the same commuter train every day, watching a couple she imagines are perfect. When the woman, Megan Hipwell, disappears, Rachel is sure she saw something, but she was drunk that night and cannot remember what happened.
The story is told by three women: Rachel, Megan and Anna.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Rachel Watson | Divorced woman who rides the train |
| Megan Hipwell | Woman Rachel watches from the train |
| Scott Hipwell | Megan's husband |
| Tom Watson | Rachel's ex-husband |
| Anna Watson | Tom's new wife |
| Kamal Abdic | Megan's therapist |
| Detective Riley | Police officer on the case |
Who is Rachel?
Rachel lost her job because of her drinking, but she still rides the train to London each day so her flatmate won't know. Her ex-husband Tom lives on the same street she passes, with his new wife Anna and their baby. Rachel watches another couple a few doors down, whom she calls Jess and Jason. One day she sees Jess kissing another man in the garden.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens to Megan?
The woman is Megan Hipwell, and the next day she is reported missing. Rachel was in that street the night Megan vanished, drunk, and woke with a head wound and no memory. She tells the police and Megan's husband Scott about the man she saw, Megan's therapist Kamal. The police see her as an unreliable drunk. Megan's body is later found; she was pregnant, and the baby was not Scott's.
↑ Back to the topWhat was Megan hiding?
Megan's chapters show a restless woman haunted by a tragedy in her teenage years, when her baby died in an accident she blamed herself for. She had been seeing a married man, and she was going to keep the baby.
↑ Back to the topWho killed Megan?
Rachel's memories slowly return, and she realizes that much of what Tom told her about her drunken behavior was false. That night she saw Tom with Megan. Tom was Megan's lover and the father of her baby. When Megan told him she would keep it, he killed her. Anna, finding a secret phone, reaches the same conclusion.
↑ Back to the topHow does The Girl on the Train end?
Rachel goes to warn Anna, and Tom confronts them both. When he attacks Rachel, she stabs him in the neck with a corkscrew, and Anna pushes it deeper to make sure. The two women tell the police the same story, and it is judged self-defense. Rachel moves away, stops drinking and begins to rebuild her life.
↑ Back to the topMore about The Girl on the Train
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.