In 1969, college student Martin “Marty” Brice and his friend, Cosmo, use university computers to hack into the bank accounts of the Republican Party, President Richard M. Nixon, and the phone company, and re-direct their funds to liberal interests. When Marty goes out for pizza, he sees police swarm the building and arrest Cosmo. Years later, under the alias “Martin Bishop,” Marty makes a meager living running a security consulting firm in San Francisco, California. One day, he is approached by Dick Gordon and Buddy Wallace from the National Security Agency (NSA), who identify him as Marty Brice and offer to clear his name in exchange for help. Gordon explains that they are seeking a “black box” device created by Dr. Gunter Janek, a mathematician who specializes in cryptography and is suspected of working for the Russian government. Gordon and Wallace promise to pay $175,000 for the black box, and threaten to arrest Marty if he does not comply. That evening, Marty presents the NSA’s proposal to his team: Donald Crease, who was fired by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after twenty-two years of service; Darren “Mother” Roskow, a convicted robber; Carl Arbogast, a young prodigy Marty caught hacking into the Oakland City School District computer system to change his grades; and Irwin “Whistler” Emery, a blind telecommunications expert. Although Crease rejects the idea, the rest of the team is motivated by the large payout, and Marty is swayed to accept the job. He visits Liz, an ex-girl friend, who agrees to help him when she learns that Marty is in danger of going to jail. They set up surveillance on Dr. Gunter Janek’s office and determine that the black box is hidden inside an answering machine on Janek’s desk. Marty breaks in and steals the answering machine. That night, Whistler examines the black box and discovers it contains a program that can break encryption codes of highly secure databases, such as those used by the Federal Reserve and the National Power Grid. In the morning, Marty and Crease drive to an outdoor café where Dick Gordon and Buddy Wallace of the NSA await. Just as Marty hands over the answering machine containing the black box, Crease notices a newspaper headline announcing that Gunter Janek was killed. Suspecting that Gordon and Wallace might be responsible, Crease calls Marty back to the car and they speed away. They drive to the “NSA” office space where Marty had an earlier meeting with Gordon and Wallace, and find the building has been demolished. Crease reprimands Marty for failing to look into Gordon and Wallace’s story. Marty seeks out Gregor Ivanovich, a Russian cultural attaché he suspects might be involved in the plot to steal the black box. Gregor assures Marty he is not involved but knows who did it. He ushers Marty into the back of a car and shows him a book filled with photographs of American spies. Marty recognizes a picture of Buddy Wallace, and Gregor explains that he left the NSA four years ago. Gregor warns Marty he is in danger and suggests he disappear again. Gregor’s car is pulled over by men claiming to be Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents. Gregor discourages Marty from going with them, but Marty gets out of the car. Gregor and his driver are shot. Buddy Wallace appears and clubs Marty over the head. Marty regains consciousness in the trunk of a moving car. Wallace knocks him out again, and he finally wakes up in the high-tech office of Cosmo, his college friend who was arrested for the crimes they both committed. Cosmo explains how he used his technological expertise to help out mobsters in prison. After they arranged for his early release, he began working for the mafia as a financial and technical advisor. He claims he needs the black box to make sure the mafia’s database remains protected. Marty does not believe this is Cosmo’s real reason for stealing it, prompting Cosmo to confess he wants to destroy worldwide financial systems so that money no longer exists and humans are finally equal. Although Cosmo tries to persuade him to join his plot, Marty refuses. Cosmo hacks into the FBI’s criminal records database and links Marty’s current alias with his real name, as insurance against Marty informing the authorities of Cosmo’s plan. Marty is blindfolded and driven back to town. Although Marty has no idea where Cosmo’s office is located, Whistler asks about the noises he heard while trapped in the car trunk on the way there, and they determine that Marty was driven over San Mateo or Dumbarton Bridge. They narrow down the possibilities based on other noises and determine that Cosmo’s office is located in the Playtronics Toy Company building. The team sets up surveillance there and discovers that magnetic swipe cards and voice recognition pass-codes are required for entry. The man whose office is next door to Cosmo’s is Dr. Werner Brandes, a microchip designer with a seemingly boring life. Carl Arbogast obtains a blueprint of the building, while Mother Roskow steals Werner Brandes’s trash to find out more about him. Marty roots through the trash and discovers that Brandes uses a computer dating service. Liz agrees to go on a date with Brandes in order to steal his entry card and record him saying specific words for the voice recognition pass-code. Meanwhile, the group detects heat and motion sensors in Cosmo’s office. Mother Roskow suggests they turn the building’s thermostat up to 98.6 degrees when Marty breaks in so his body heat will not be detected. Also, Marty will be unable to move faster than two inches per second, or the motion sensors will trip an alarm. That night, Carl sneaks into the Playtronics building and raises the thermostat. Using Brandes’s entry card and a recording of his voice edited together by Whistler, Marty gains access to Brandes’s office. He removes a panel from the ceiling and sneaks into the crawl space that connects to Cosmo’s office. Moving very slowly, he retrieves the black box from Cosmo’s desk. Elsewhere, Brandes becomes suspicious of Liz on their second date and drives her to the Playtronics building, where he alerts the guards that someone might have broken into his office. Cosmo, Dick Gordon, and Buddy Wallace hurry to Cosmo’s office and find the black box missing. Alarms are sounded and security guards swarm the building. Marty surrenders, but just as Wallace is about to shoot him, Carl drops from the ceiling and clobbers him. Carl, Liz, and Cosmo escape to the roof. Nearby, Crease, Mother Roskow, and Whistler wait in the surveillance van. Marty calls for the van to pick them up by a fire escape, but Crease and Mother Roskow are stopped by guards. Whistler is forced to take the driver’s seat and blindly drive toward the building while Marty talks him through it. Liz and Carl make it to the van, but Marty is stopped by Cosmo, who laments that Marty does not want to work with him. Marty relinquishes the answering machine containing the black box and suggests Cosmo destroy it. Joining the others in the van, Marty reveals a second answering machine with the real black box inside. They return to their offices, where Bernard Abbott from the NSA awaits. Marty tells him the black box is broken but gives it up in exchange for his record being cleared. Mother Roskow also requests a Winnebago, and Crease negotiates for a trip to Europe with his wife. After Abbott leaves, Marty once again reveals that he kept the actual black box, a small chip contained within the larger device. Sometime later, a television news reporter announces that the Republican National Committee has mysteriously gone bankrupt, while Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and the United Negro College Fund have reported record earnings for the week.