Plot
In the future, Michael and his two friends Bryson and Sarah are employed by VNS, VirtNet Security, to track down a cyber-terrorist known as Kaine who has been trapping people inside the VirtNet, even though the gamers who are trapped commit suicide in real life by ripping out their Cores, the objects that are the layer between their virtual and their real life bodies.
Conflict
The conflict is the virtual gamer Kaine trapping people in The Sleep. a girl was tormented by Kaine. She ripped out her Core and jumped off a bridge. Once you rip out your Core, if you die in the game you die in real life. Throughout the book, Michael tries to find Kaine before he hurts anyone else by going through crazy obstacles with his friends Sarah and Bryson.