The Handmaid's Tale is written in the first person perspective, in a way that implies the narrator is recollecting the events that once happened to her. We never know the narrator's true name, only her Handmaid name of Offred. As such, the narrative jumps back and forth between different times and places. My synopsis will be more chronological in nature, rather than attempting to follow the complex, frequent transitions that occur in the novel.

The narrator has a college friend named Moira who is a feminist and more politically outspoken. The narrator's mother was originally a part of the early feminist movement. Though the narrator doesn't have a problem with this, she is not as motivated to pursue this direction as her mother was. Sometime after college, the narrator began having an affair with a man named Luke. Luke gets a divorce and marries the narrator. They have a child (a girl), but then things begin to change politically.

In a short period of time, all women are fired from their jobs, and their bank accounts are frozen. Their money is given to the nearest male relation. On President's day, the President and the entire Congress is murdered. The constitution is revoked. It's not clear how much time passes, but things begin to get progressively worse. It gets to the point where Luke and the narrator feel the need to escape, so they get fake passports and attempt to flee. They are caught, however, and they run on foot. The narrator escapes, but she does not know if Luke lives or dies. Her daughter is captured as well.

The narrator is taken to the Red Center, where she is indoctrinated (by women known as Aunts) into the new regime. She will become a Handmaid - essentially a religiously and politically condoned concubine for a powerful leader whose own wife is not capable of bearing children. Due to pollution and reduced birth rates, women who have been borne healthy children have become extremely important. Moira arrives during her stay, but is able to escape by threatening to kill an Aunt with the rod from a toilet bowl.

Some time later, the narrator (now known as Offred, in her role as Handmaid to a Commander named Fred) has just been transferred to a new Commander. She is only allowed to leave the house once a day to do the shopping, where she meets another Handmaid. Women are no longer allowed to read, or write, but in her room she has a pillow she can kneel on that has the word "faith" embroidered into it, and the previous Handmaid (who hung herself) engraved the Latin phrase Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.

Each month, when Offred is fertile, she undergoes the ceremony, in which she lies in the Commander's wife's bed, under a cloak so her face and upper body cannot be seen. She must clasp the hands of the wife, to show unity, while the Commander has sex with her. The wife, Serena Joy, hates Offred. Meanwhile, Offred gets a new shopping partner, who is part of the resistance. She teaches Offred the secret code word "Mayday" and gives her information on what is going on.

One night, the Commander requests Offred come to his room (a major violation of the rules). She goes, and he plays Scrabble with her. Over time, this bizarre "affair" continues, playing Scrabble, reading magazines, using hand lotion. Nothing sexual occurs. One day, Serena Joy tells Offred that she can arrange a sexual liaison with Nick (an assistant to the Commander) in order to become pregnant. Though a violation of the rules, if Offred gets pregnant, she will not be sent to the colonies (effectively a death sentence). This will also give Serena Joy a child to raise as her own. Offred agrees.

One night, the Commander gives Offred a garish outfit and takes her to Jezebel's - a whorehouse that the most important Commander's secretly attend. The women there are dressed exotically, and are allowed to smoke and drink. Offred finds Moira there, and learns that she was caught after escaping and brought to Jezebel's since she couldn't be broken. Offred never sees Moira again. Soon after, she sees Nick, sleeps with him, and begins a nightly affair with him. Though they specifically avoid saying they love each other, they develop a deep relationship.

Serena Joy discovers the relationship between Offred and the Commander, and threatens to make Offred's life a hell. Before this can happen, though, a van of the Eyes (the secret service of the new regime) comes to take her away. Nick tells her they are a part of the Mayday rebellion and will help her escape. She trusts him, not knowing what else to do. This ends her narrative.

The last 10 pages consist of "Historical Notes" from the 22nd century in which a Professor discusses the validity of the narration we just read. According to this professor, the tale comes from a selection of cassette tapes found in a house in Maine. It is not known if the woman ultimately escaped, or who she was exactly. The implication, however, is that she at least escaped the Commander's. Also, since this is a historical look back on the Gilead regime, it is clear that this society did not last for long.