Rather than directly confronting his failing marriage, his failing business, and his mother’s failing health, Alex turns to his employee, Shauna, for comfort, taking advantage of her doomed love for him. Meanwhile, both Shauna and Alex’s wife, Holley, struggle to overcome the wounds left by their emotionally abusive parents. All three suffer in silence, mistreating each other without knowing why. Set partly in a pet store and partly in a newly gentrified urban setting, Captivity creates a melancholy parallel between animal cages and modern city living.