Plot Summary

Arrested by the NSA for his involvement with the secretive organization Cicada 3301, hacker Connor testifies in front of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court about the events that transpired. Connor explains that 29 days earlier, he inadvertently found the organization's recruitment game, which requires participants to solve a series of puzzles in order to join. Strong-armed by the NSA to help them shut down Cicada, Connor takes part in the game alongside Gwen, a librarian seeking to be recruited, and his best friend Avi. The three succeed in finding clues from the puzzles, but after nearly being killed by another group of participants, Gwen and Avi drop out. Connor, however, continues the game and eventually causes a massive power outage, earning him an invitation to Cicada's private party in England.Recognizing that Cicada intends to bring chaos to the world, Connor informs Gwen and Avi that he intends to stop the organization at the party, prompting them to join him. The infiltration goes awry, resulting in Connor and Gwen being captured by Cicada's leader, Phillip Dubois. Dubois, who defends the organization as bringing equality to an unjust world, reveals Gwen is a treasonous NSA agent pursuing amnesty through Cicada. Connor escapes after killing Dubois' guards, but as a result of Gwen being shot, she provides Connor with a USB drive to obtain the information Cicada holds. Confronted by Connor, Dubois confesses he is an actor following orders from Cicada and was unaware anyone would be harmed. As the NSA storms the building, Connor succeeds in downloading the information before being knocked unconscious in his escape attempt, while the agents kill Dubois.At the conclusion of Connor's testimony, the judges find fault in the NSA's tactics, but also inform Connor that he has incriminated himself in several felonies. However, Connor reveals that he was stalling the court with his testimony so he would be able to start leaking the private documents that he downloaded. Connor threatens to continue leaking information unless he receives $1 million for each document and Avi is released from custody. His extortion successful, Connor uses his new finances to assist others. He receives a message from Gwen, who is now a member of Cicada. (thanks to Wikipedia)