Set in the near future, the handmaids of the title are women who can still bear children after the ravages of war caused wide-spread sterility. One of the handmaids, Kate, is caught trying to escape the Republic of Gilead and sent to the prison-like training center. She is sent from there to the home of the commander to bear his child, but revolutionary forces have other plans for her!

Originally released as motion picture in 1990. Based on the novel by Margaret Atwood.