What does 'a net of ' mean?

Answer 1

A net is a porous cloth container. Some nets, like butterfly nets, have very small holes. Fishing nets can have holes between its threads or cords many inches in size. Such a net will trap larger fish but let smaller ones through. As a fishing net is drawn out of the water, the water and smaller fish will escape through the holes leaving a net of fish, a bunch of fish held by the net.
A net can be a metaphor for a kind of trap, especially a trap made of a lot of small components as a net is made of a lot of small interlocked cords. Thus we talk about someone being trapped in "a net of lies" where the lies, when added to each other, serve to create a trap. Or again, one might hear about "a net of intrigue" with a similar meaning.
Where a metaphor is needed for a large interconnected system of smaller components, "net" or "web" is often used, but more often the word used is "network". This metaphorical use is of course also the basis of the word "internet".