A monstrous cataclysm shattered the calm life of the provincial town of Talashevsk. The world got mixed up in time and space: the Spanish Inquisition borders the wild nomads; primitive people coexist with the city of the 22nd century; people rapidly become feral and try to survive by any means. Cataclysms continue, and places suitable for human habitation become fewer and fewer—good ground for the emergence of a satanic cult, ruthless and powerful.
By some miracle, the surviving townspeople band together like wolves and wage a harsh struggle for survival against mysterious varnaks, wild nomads, and merciless inquisitors. The group of people trying to resist them—one of the bands that gathered the most different people—has almost no chance, but meeting a stranger across worlds, Artyom, gives them a chance to survive.
Formally, the cycle can be considered the world of “The Road,” but in this story Artyom is not the main hero—sometimes he comes to help, almost a half-god whose intentions are unknown, whose actions are unclear, and whose power is immeasurable.