Programmer Oleg Garin led a measured life and had no intention of going to the Zone. But the courier fell ill, and the authorities from the Institute asked Garin to fly to a 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.