A familiar world of stalkers, bandits, and anomalies—the Zone surrounded by the Perimeter. Three stalkers set out to search for the missing Cartographer, but end up in a dangerous trap where they must pass through the Shatter and the Mercury Lake. They encounter a ghost train and a Vivisector, as well as adherents of the Black Brotherhood.
Two factions are hunting for the Cartographer, and all of this is because of his mysterious secret.