Twenty-two years after the events that led to his incarceration, Norman Bates is deemed rehabilitated and released from a mental institution. Returning to his family's motel and the old Victorian mansion that looms over it, he hopes to start anew. Striving for normalcy, Norman secures a job at a local diner and attempts to put his dark past behind him. However, the shadow of his mother's influence and his notorious history hangs heavily. The townspeople are wary, and figures from his past, including Lila Loomis, the sister of one of his victims, vehemently protest his release, believing he is still a danger to society.

As Norman struggles with his attempt at a second chance, peculiar incidents begin to occur that challenge his sanity. He receives mysterious notes and phone calls, seemingly from his deceased mother, driving him to question his own mental state. A young waitress from the diner, with troubles of her own, ends up staying with Norman, offering a semblance of normalcy and companionship. But as events unfold, Norman's grip on reality starts to slip, hinting that the past may not be as dead and buried as he hoped. The arrival of various characters at the motel sets the stage for a series of unsettling events that threaten to unravel the fragile stability Norman has been trying to maintain.