The sky above the Earth was torn apart by a flash, as if the warheads of several ballistic missiles had detonated. The planet shook from the impact, which was recorded by all seismic stations in the world. The missile units were alerted, but... No anti-aircraft alert was announced. Not a single state in the world has launched a nuclear strike on an enemy. And yet, something extraordinary happened in the Russian outback. One of the specialists who should have understood what happened was GRU Major Nikolai Zimin. True, trouble in his family made him forget about service, but only for a while... After all, the trouble hanging over humanity turned out to be much worse...