Selling Innocence

An unpopular Mia is approached by a recruiter at a shopping mall who suggests modeling as a path to earn money. She believes modeling could be a better option than working at a sushi restaurant, so she agrees to visit the agency to learn more. This encounter sets the plan in motion for her to enter the industry.

She goes to the agency and poses for photographs that are meant to be displayed on an exclusive internet site. The photos are framed as potential scouting material for other jobs, even though the site targets paying members. Mia wrestles with the notion that this work might be more troubling than she realizes.

As Mia's membership climbs, she starts receiving disturbing messages from a subscriber known as Gabriel. The messages grow more unsettling and invasive, making her increasingly uneasy. Yet she continues to shoot and post content to keep the money flowing.

Mia participates in live video chats with the site’s gentlemen, expanding the exploitative setup. The chats pressure her to perform more explicit content as she senses the operation's looming danger. She keeps going to earn money, despite the growing chill of the situation.

Mia realizes too late that she is working for a pornography site, not a legitimate modeling outlet. She turns to a group called webwatch to uncover the operation, hoping to alert authorities. The agency insists nothing illegal is happening, and the police say they can’t intervene.

Disgusted by the exploitative system, Mia quits after earning more than $30,000. She also learns a younger girl has been hired, amplifying her sense of wrongdoing in the operation. The boss asserts legal rights to her photos and vows to keep the site up unless pressured to shut it down.

The boss proposes removing the site if Mia performs a 15-minute live web show, stressing the lucrative demand from clients and implying it could be used as police evidence. He emphasizes that he holds full rights to her images and could force continued hosting otherwise. Mia weighs her options, hoping to spark real action from authorities.

Believing the broadcast could trigger police intervention, Mia begins the 15-minute live show. She soon realizes the plan is not unfolding as hoped and that the threat of the operation remains real. The show becomes a tense test of her resolve and safety.

As the session continues, Mia cannot bring herself to complete the show. The pressure, fear, and moral cost overwhelm her, and she cuts the performance short. Her sense of danger intensifies as the room tightens around her.

She races to the Webwatch station in a bid to shut down the operation and escape the coercive atmosphere. Gabriel becomes furious that she won't finish privately and tries to coax her into completing the broadcast while he records. The confrontation escalates as she seeks safety.

Mia's mother Abby and her boyfriend arrive just as Gabriel closes in, stepping in to protect her and stop the coercive manipulation. The intervention shifts the balance and gives Mia a chance to break free from the operation. The immediate danger subsides with their arrival.

In the aftermath, Mia takes a safer job at a fast-food restaurant and begins rebuilding her life. The exploitative agency is shut down and Gabriel is behind bars. A closing image shows a teen browsing Mia's old photos online, underscoring the lasting digital footprint of the abuse.