Johnny Smith is the protagonist of The Dead Zone. As a young man, he is carefree and filled with potential. His girlfriend Sarah loves him for his carefree, laidback attitude. He is considerate of her feelings and conscious of his affection for her. When he declares his love for Sarah, he is overjoyed when she declares her love for him in return. He sees a great future laid out ahead of them, only for a terrible car accident to change everything.

Johnny emerges from his coma as the same person but finds that the world has changed around him. His difficulty to adjust is particularly expressed in his personal relationships. To Johnny, the night he declared his love for Sarah seems like a few days or hours ago. To Sarah, more than four years have passed. Johnny may be the same person, but Sarah has been through emotional turmoil and has moved on with her life. Similarly, Johnny struggles to comprehend his mother Vera’s new religious fanaticism. The world around Johnny is significantly more hostile after his accident. He develops the power to see into people’s minds and into their futures, but every time he uses this power, he meets negative consequences.