Nikita Novikov, known in the Zone as the stalker with the nickname Handful, failed the assignment he was given. His former friend, the Chemist, disappeared with a sinister artifact, and the only companions Handful has left are two newcomers—Alyosha and the Colonel. What to do next? There’s no time to hesitate—if the Chemist manages to activate the artifact, all stalkers will end up under the control of the “Rune” group, turning into zombies.
Desperately searching for a way out of this difficult situation, Handful goes to a certain Sprut, who can see everything that happens in the Zone. From Sprut, an experienced stalker learns that one of his current comrades is a traitor. Who is it—Alyosha or the Colonel? And why does Sprut advise taking Ben Gann as an ally with his group, and to find without fail the stalker Zyablik, who knows where the very core of evil in the Zone is?
Meanwhile, the Chemist is firmly convinced that the artifact he has acquired will heal all of humanity from ailments. Of course, the strange behavior of Iggeld makes the Chemist doubt that they are doing everything correctly. To his own misfortune, he decides to get to the truth…