Working with his three friends at their Startup company Skullbocks, Stanford University graduate Milo Hoffman is contacted by Chief Executive Officer Gary Winston of NURV (Never Underestimate Radical Vision) for a very attractive programming position: a fat paycheck, an almost-unrestrained working environment, and extensive creative control over his work. Accepting Winston's offer, Hoffman and his girlfriend, Alice Poulson, move to NURV headquarters in Portland, Oregon.