When her car breaks down, Mae Holland contacts an old acquaintance, Mercer, who is liked by her parents: Vinnie - Mae's father - has multiple sclerosis and needs the help of his wife, Bonnie. Mae's friend Annie Allerton works at The Circle, a tech company where Mae gets a job in Customer Experience. At a company meeting, Eamon Bailey (The Circle's CEO) introduces SeeChange, which uses small cameras placed anywhere to provide real-time video. At work, Mae rises in The Circle, embracing social networking. At a further company presentation emphasizing the need for accountability in politics, The Circle's Chief Operating Officer (COO), Tom Stenton, introduces a political candidate who has agreed to open her daily workings to the public through Circle..