The Help took place in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi. It is told from the first person perspective of three women: Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter. Skeeter has just finished college and comes home with dreams to be a writer. Her mother's dream is for her to get married. Skeeter frequently wonders about the sudden disappearance of Constantine, the maid who raised her. She had been writing to Skeeter while she was away at college and the last letter promised a surprise upon her homecoming. Skeeter's family tells her that Constantine had quit and gone to live with relatives in Chicago. Skeeter does not believe that Constantine would just leave and continually pursue anyone she thinks has information about her, but no one will discuss the former maid.
The life that Constantine led while being the help to the Phelan family leads Skeeter to the realization that her friends' maids are treated very differently from how the white employees are treated. She decides that she wants to reveal the truth about being a colored maid in Mississippi. Skeeter struggles to communicate with the maids and gain their trust. the danger of writing a book about African-Americans speaking out in the south during the '60s hover over the three women.