When three teen friends are forced by their parents to get summer jobs, they decide to invent fake jobs and hang out instead, but then embark on a series of get-rich-quick schemes to make the money they should have been earning. But the sweet life proves much more difficult than anticipated.

Desperate to get back on top, venture capitalist Joel meets Nicolaus and Lester, entrepreneurs seeking investors for Empathy, Inc., a virtual reality startup offering realistic and moving experiences for users by placing them in the lives of the less fortunate. Joel gets the startup its funds but soon discovers the tech's creators have a far more insidious agenda.