In Silicon Valley, Richard, a young introvert programmer, lives with his friends Big Head, Gilfoyle and Dinesh at Hacker Hostel, a residence space for entrepreneurs. They reside under the careful eyes of Erlich, an internet millionaire who allows them to live at no cost in exchange for a 10% share in their projects. After a failed attempt to present his idea to Peter Gregory, a powerful investor, Richard runs the risk of having to continue working for Hooli, the company founded by Gavin Belson, a successful but arrogant executive. When Monica, Gregory's chief of operations, and Jared, a Hooli executive, realize the value of their search algorithm, begins a fight to death between Belson and Gregory, leaving Richard caught in the middle.