Antitrust 2001

Milo Hoffman, a Stanford graduate, works with his three friends at their new software development company, Skullbocks. He is recruited by Gary Winston, the ambitious CEO of the software giant NURV, who offers him a generous salary, near-total creative control, and a permissive working environment. After accepting, Milo and his girlfriend, Alice Poulson, move to NURV’s headquarters in Portland, Oregon.

At the heart of NURV’s ambitions is Synapse, a worldwide media distribution network that appears to be on track. Yet Milo grows uneasy about the pristine source code that Winston personally provides whenever the company needs it, and Winston refuses to reveal where it comes from.

Tragedy strikes when Milo’s best friend and fellow programmer, Teddy Chin, is murdered. He discovers a chilling pattern: NURV is stealing code from programmers around the world—and killing those who stand in their way. The company relies on an expansive surveillance system to monitor and lift ideas, has infiltrated the Justice Department, and even exercises influence over mainstream media. To complicate matters, Milo’s girlfriend is revealed to be a plant, an ex-con hired by NURV to spy on him.

Hidden within a secret NURV database are sensitive dossiers on a friendly coworker, Lisa Calighan. Confronting her about the data, Milo learns she is willing to help expose NURV. He teams with his old start-up friend, Brian Bissel, to hijack Synapse via a local public-access television station and broadcast their charges to the world. But Calighan turns out to be Winston’s accomplice and foils the plan.

As the failed operation unfolds and Winston moves to kill Milo, a backup plan goes into motion. Off-screen, Milo had already persuaded Poulson to turn against NURV; she joins the others—the fourth Skullbocks member—and, with NURV’s incorruptible security contractors, they seize one of the company’s own centers—Building 21—and transmit incriminating evidence using the Synapse code. The plan leads to the arrest of Calighan, Winston, and his entourage by the FBI. In the aftermath, Milo parts ways amicably with the redeemed Poulson and rejoins Skullbocks.