Chemist and Fist, two legendary stalkers, are together again! The beginning of their journey in the Zone, their first meeting, and their very first, strangest adventure! Where did the Leshii come from in the Zone – a faction wielding unusual weapons and items? And why do they fiercely guard a spot near the Chernobyl NPP – a place accessible only by a secret path known to just one person, a scientist and artifact trader? A well-known reporter (soon to earn the nickname Chemist) arrives in the Zone to unravel this web of mysteries. Accompanied by a paratrooper (the future stalker Fist), he must embark on a perilous journey through the Dead Base and the Cauldron, only to witness at the end something no stalker has ever seen before…