In the aftermath of a mission to disable a device deep within the Chernobyl exclusion zone, stalkers gain access to areas closer to the reactor than ever before. Seizing the opportunity, the Ukrainian government launches Operation Fairway, a reconnaissance flight over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, but all five of its helicopters go down under mysterious circumstances. Major Alexander Degtyarev, a seasoned stalker and agent of the state security service, is dispatched into the Zone to locate the wreckage and uncover what brought the aircraft down.