Two decades after the original murders at the Bates Motel, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) completes his treatment at a mental institution and returns home to find his hotel run down under the management of Warren Toomey (Dennis Franz). Despite a new friendship with a waitress (Meg Tilly) and a job busing tables at a diner, Norman begins to hear voices once again. No matter how hard he tries, Norman cannot keep "Mother" from returning and coaxing him to unleash the homicidal maniac within.