The world is completely regulated in every aspect. Humans are bred by the thousands in sets of twins, and are raised in separate conditions so as to result in one of 5 classes- Alpha (being the "best"), Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. Children are raised through hypnopaedia, where messages are played thousands of times while they sleep. This turns everyone into basically everyone else, and they all hold corresponding ideals. Even the Epsilons are happy, because they've been taught to be happy with what they have. .
Bernard Marx, an Alpha male, always knew he was different. He is smaller in stature, and does not look like what an Alpha male should. He was always trying to prove himself to the other males. Lenina Crowne, an employee at the factory where he works, likes him even though he is odd, and it may be that very reason why she likes him. Bernard invites her to accompany him to a Savage Reservation in New Mexico, and she agrees. Bernard then asks his Director for permission and a permit to go to the Reservation. It is during this visit that the Director tells Bernard of a previous visit to the Reservation about 20 years ago. He went with a woman, and she was lost in a storm. They searched for her, but they never found her, and they went back to London. She was never heard from again. Bernard was disturbed by the Director's behavior, but he shrugs it off when he is given the permit. .
Just before leaving to go on his trip with Lenina, Bernard receives a phone call from his friend, Helmholtz Watson, a physically perfect Alpha specimen, that the Director is unhappy with Bernard's odd and unsociable behavior. He is on the verge of having him exiled to a faraway development. .
Bernard and Lenina make their way to the Reservation, and they"re shocked by what they see. The Reservation holds many ideals that are present in today's society, but are unheard of in the world of Bernard and Lenina.