When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it as the beginning of a life of freedom and plenty. But as a cunning, ruthless elite among them starts to take control, the other animals find themselves ensnared as one form of tyranny is gradually replaced with another. Orwell's chilling 'fairy story' is a timeless and devastating satire of idealism betrayed by power and corruption.