The Handmaid's TaleA #1 New York Times bestseller and a modern dystopian classic, The Handmaids Tale presents a chilling vision of a society ruled by control and fear. Set in the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian regime that has replaced the United States, strict laws govern every aspect of life. With birth rates dangerously low, fertile women are forced into servitude as Handmaids, assigned to powerful families to bear children on their behalf. Offred is one of them.