In a future United States, in which pollution has caused the birthrate to plummet (and of the few babies that are born, many are deformed), a puritanical Christian sect takes over and forms the Republic of Gilead. The “republican” government is determined to create a country that is, in their minds, orderly and in line with Biblical commandments. (A republic is a government in which the people elect leaders who make decisions; Gilead, as far as we see, has no such system.)

The new government starts transforming the country by. . .