In nine simple vignettes, filmed indoors with a static camera, civilians in Tehran come face to face with individuals vested with power – parents, teachers, functionaries, businessmen – in delicate dialogues that broach taboos, minor and major. These range from hijab to hair colour, from baby naming to dog ownership. Each of the vignettes unfolds as an interview between a visible subject and an offscreen authority who grills them, at times with a sadistic relish.