In the halls of Aunt Lydia’s premarital preparatory academy, the finest in Gilead, Agnes is assigned to mentor a new Pearl Girl, and a fragile alliance begins.

As Agnes begins the rituals that mark her coming of age, she struggles with the confusing stirrings of adolescence. Meanwhile, Daisy is subjected to Gilead’s system of discipline.

An incident on a school trip spurs Daisy’s memories of Toronto, revealing her past and a world shattered by violence.