Returning from Pripyat, Oleg Garin and Mikhail Stolyarov forgot the Zone like a nightmare. But reality can be worse than any nightmare. When the Zone swallowed Moscow, they met again—programmer and officer. The Moscow Zone has vicious mutants and monstrous anomalies, but there is no creature more dangerous than a human being.
By manipulating someone else’s mind, an invisible enemy traps Stolyarov and Garin. When they realize that every step they took had been calculated by someone, retreat is already too late. All the heroes can do is accept the fight. But first they must find out who hides behind the mask of the Puppet-master, who has subordinated the stalkers of the Moscow Zone to his will.