Inspired by actual events, writer/director Craig Zobel's sophomore feature Compliance examines the complex hierarchy of authority through the experiences of a teenage fast-food restaurant clerk who falls victim to a twisted practical joke. Becky (Dreama Walker) is doing her best to get through another tough shift when a man claiming to be a police officer calls to speak with her stressed-out manager Sandra (Ann Dowd). According to the man on the phone, Becky has just stolen money from a customer, and likely still has the cash on her person. When Becky denies any wrongdoing, the man on the phone insists that Sandra detain the frightened girl in the back room of the restaurant, an action that sets into motion a shocking sequence of events.