In January 2007, the disappearances of two 14-year-old girls, Megan Stewart and Amy Herman, become the centerpiece of an investigative effort that stitches together web-chat videos, home movies, and news reports to raise awareness about online safety for children.
Megan is a popular high school honors student, but at home she grapples with a strained relationship with her mother and a troubling history of drug use. Amy, by contrast, enjoys a healthy relationship with her parents and still clings to stuffed toys, yet she endures persistent bullying from peers. The two friends share a bond that prompts Megan to invite Amy to a rave party for her upcoming birthday, hoping it will help her friend fit in and feel included.
Amy is uncomfortable at the party and becomes the target of harassment when she refuses to engage in sexual advances with one of the attendees. The nighttakes a shockingly intimate turn when Amy walks in on Megan performing oral sex on the party host, an image that unsettles her deeply. Later, Amy experiences a moment of visceral discomfort as she witnesses Megan kissing another friend, and she vomits on Lexie, who is making out with Kathy. Megan apologizes for this troubling moment and opens up about her own early sexual experience, revealing she first encountered oral sex at the age of ten with a 17-year-old camp counselor.
On Megan’s birthday, Amy records a video diary with Megan using her new camera. In the diary, Megan reveals that her stepfather is in prison for raping her when she was nine, and she describes the strain this past event has placed on her relationship with her mother, who resents her for having reported the abuse to authorities. Amid the disclosure, Amy offers comfort and support, underscoring the strength of their friendship.
The two girls’ online world grows more complicated as Megan video chats with Lexie. It is strongly implied that Lexie has carried a brief sexual past with Megan and even harbors a crush on her. Lexie then passes Megan’s social media handle to Josh, who presents himself as a 17-year-old from a nearby school. Josh shares only a single photo and remains anonymous on video chat, insisting his webcam is broken. Despite several red flags and suspicious inconsistencies, Megan remains charmed by him. They agree to meet at a party, but Josh never reveals himself, and Megan confronts him online. She ultimately forgives him when he accurately describes what she was wearing and insists that he is shy.
Soon after, Megan agrees to meet Josh at a diner behind which a different kind of danger awaits. The day after their planned meeting, news reports confirm Megan’s disappearance, with the last known footage showing a grainy frame of a wrist being grabbed by an indistinct, older man. Amy continues to investigate, continuing online conversations with Josh, while Lexie and Kathy observe the investigation and Lexie subtly harasses Amy, perhaps out of guilt for introducing Megan to Josh in the first place. When Amy’s suspicion grows, Josh issues threats.
The situation takes a darker turn as disturbing material begins to surface online: graphic images of a tortured Megan, with her mouth, nostrils, and eyes pried open while she is immobilized on a pillory table appear on fetish forums, amplifying the fear and urgency surrounding the case.
As investigators widen their search, Amy records another video diary under a bridge where she once shared secrets with Megan. She is abducted by a man, and her camera is found discarded in a nearby garbage can. In unedited footage, Josh is seen unlocking the door to a torture chamber, where Amy is chained to the wall and pleads for her teddy bear. She is forced to eat from a dog bowl with her hands bound, and Josh rapes her, insisting that she will be released only if she fits into a large plastic barrel to hide his whereabouts. In a devastating moment, Amy opens the barrel to discover Megan’s decaying corpse inside. She is forced back into the barrel and transported to a forest as Josh digs a grave and pushes the barrel into the ground before walking away. The film closes with missing posters for Amy and Megan, leaving the audience with a stark, unresolved sense of tragedy.
