Programmer Oleg Garin led a measured lifestyle and had no plans to enter the Zone. But then the courier fell ill, and the authorities from the Institute asked Garin to fly to the research post. There and back, just a matter of minutes! Who knew how this short business trip would turn out... Over the Zone, a helicopter crashes, in which everyone dies except Garin and a criminal nicknamed Stone. To survive, they will have to obtain the unique psionic artifact Crown and go through the entire Zone. This is a long path, full of lies and betrayal, through an invisible psi-war, in which the heroes became unwitting participants even before they got into the Zone.