A war criminal in hiding forms a relationship with his only connection to the outside world--his maid.

With her employers out, a maid in 1920s England has a rare chance to meet with her secret lover, the son from a nearby manor. Class issues keep them apart, and although he is about to leave to marry a suitable wife, the events of this weekend could change their lives -- and love -- forever.

Raquel has worked as a housemaid for an upper-class Santiago, Chile, family for 23 years. On Raquel's 41st birthday, Pilar Valdez and family force the sullen, withdrawn maid to emerge from her kitchen sanctum and join the family for a celebration, but her discomfort is as strong as the family's need to acknowledge their awkward dependence on her. Raquel becomes unable to care for the house alone and new help is hired, which throws her into a jealous...

The story of Teresa, a 54 year old woman who works as a domestic employee in a family home in Buenos Aires. For decades she has taken refuge in the routine of her tasks, but now that the family has decided to sell the house, her life begins to totter.

In 1960s Mississippi, Skeeter, a southern society girl, returns from college determined to become a writer but turns her friends' lives and a small Mississippi town upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families. Aibileen, Skeeter's best friend's housekeeper, is the first to open up, to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community.