A young writer of children's stories (Madeleine Stowe) is arrested, interrogated, and tortured by a sadistic secret policeman (Alan Rickman). He accuses her of embedding political messages in her children's stories, particulary a story entitled "Closet Land," and tries to force her to sign a confession. She refuses. The officer has also known the writer since childhood when he abused her in her mother's closet. The entire movie takes place in one room designed for interrogating political prisoners. The movie is set in an unidentified, modern police state.