The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel which focuses on the journey of a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, an extremely oppressive state that has replaced the United States of America, which was founded some time in the near future of our own world. Atwood gives a vague explanation of how Gilead came into creation, and the people involved are mostly mentioned offhand, however the government of Gilead is never really explored in depth during the story.