Norman Johnson, a professor of psychology, often went to the sites of plane crashes. But this time the US Navy called him to investigate the wreck of a kilometer-long spaceship, which had lain on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean for more than three hundred years at a depth of over 350 meters. To study the object, a deep-sea station was built and a team of excellent scientists was assembled, who had to go down to the ship. The team makes a startling discovery: the controls are labeled in English text. And although they find room for 20 crew members, there is no sign of them on the ship. But they find a large shiny sphere that looks like a metal ball. Each team member visits the sphere, after which the lines between reality and illusion begin to blur. The behavior of scientists becomes irrational, they do not trust each other. Everyone faces their own demons, and it is not known how contact with the sphere will end.