Paul Atreides and his parents, Duke Leto and the Lady Jessica, a Bene Gesserit, are exiled to the desert planet Arrakis, or Dune, which exports melange, the spice necessary for space travel.

After Leto is assassinated by Baron Harkonnen who is attempting to control the melange trade, Paul and Jessica escape into the desert and join the Fremen, who, under the guidance of Leit Keynes, are trying to make the desert green. Paul, who may be the Kwisatz Haderach, the result of generations of selected breeding, leads the Fremen in a holy war to oust the corrupt Baron and Emperor from Arrakis.