Than Handmaid's Tale: Pages 1-49

I am confused by this story. At first it seems like she is in prison or an army boot camp, but then later we find out it's not prison. So where are they? It seems like this is sometime in the future but I cant figure out where. But from what I do understand I think the women no longer have rights. I think the only thing they are there for (if they are the right age and everything) is to have children. It seems like they are in this prison type place until a family has selected them to have a baby for their family. But I'm not really sure about all this. Hopefully I will understand it better after we go over it in class.