At the center of an outlawed region of Russian wilderness called The Zone lies a mystical room altered by unnatural forces, said to be aliens. Armed guards are the first in a series of lethal obstructions that prevent outsiders from reaching the place where fantastic powers can fulfill one's greatest desires. Only an outlaw stalker can lead a scientist and writer through The Zone where an obstacle course of mental and physical barriers tests the limits of their endurance. At the end they must face the room where the center of power and evil confronts them and the future of mankind.