Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, an alien place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A Stalker, one of only a handful who have the mental gifts (and who risk imprisonment) to lead people into the Zone is tasked with reaching the Room, said to be a place where one's secret hopes come true. His clients are a burned out popular writer, cynical, and questioning his talent; and a quiet scientist more concerned about his knapsack than the journey. In the deserted Zone, the approach to the Room must be indirect. As they draw near, the rules seem to change and the stalker faces a crisis. The film is loosely based on the novel "Roadside Picnic" by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky