Offred is one of the few remaining fertile women in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was previously the United States. A handmaid in the commander's household, she is one of the caste of women who are forced into servitude in a desperate attempt to repopulate the world.

In this horrible society, Offred must navigate between commanders, their horrid wives, and her fellow handmaids in a place where anyone could be a spy for Gilead, all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken away from her.