The Handmaid's Tale is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a
totalitarian society in what was formerly the United States. Facing
environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a
twisted fundamentalism in its militarized ‘return to traditional
values'. As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred is a Handmaid in the Commander's household, one of the caste of
women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to
repopulate the world. In this terrifying society, Offred must navigate
between Commanders, their cruel Wives, domestic Marthas, and her fellow
Handmaids – where anyone could be a spy for Gilead – all with one goal:
to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.