The movie begins with Elizabeth logging into a webcam-based social media site known as ''The Den'', which allows users to chat with random strangers across the world, similar to Chatroulette. For her graduate project in sociology, she proposes to chat with as many strangers as possible and calculate how many meaningful conversations she can accumulate. The graduate board reluctantly gives her a grant, with the help of Sally, one of her friends on the graduate board pushing for her approval. She spends the next few months continuously chatting with strangers, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend, Damien, and friends Jenni and Max. Though most of her chats are quickly ended due to sexual content or scams, she accumulates plenty of data and is optimistic about the outcome of the project.