Dade Murphy, a teenage computer whiz who's been legally forbidden from touching a keyboard until his 18th birthday due to a youthful cyber prank that crashed thousands of computers, reignites his passion for hacking upon regaining his rights. Relocating to New York City with his mother, Dade adopts the handle "Zero Cool" and quickly falls in with a group of like-minded hackers, including the enigmatic Kate and the resourceful Cereal Killer. The hackers entertain themselves by probing the limits of cyberspace and testing their skills against each other, largely aiming to one-up each other in a series of virtual challenges and pranks.

However, their harmless activities take a serious turn when they stumble upon a nefarious plot by a rogue security officer, who has developed a dangerous computer virus with the potential to capsize the world's economy. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the group of young hackers finds themselves in a perilous race against time. They must use their profound skills to dig deeper into the cyber conspiracy and expose the threat. As they delve into the shadowy corners of the digital world, the stakes rise dramatically when they attract the attention of the Secret Service and the hack escalates into a battle for their rights, their freedom, and the security of the global financial network.