Elderly Aleksandra visits her Russian soldier grandson, Denis, at the Chechen war front, providing comfort as she tours his army. All the while, Denis ponders the reason for her unexpected appearance.

In the near future, writer Victor Banev gets himself on a UN commission to investigate what’s going on in the remote town of Tashlinsk, where reports tell of a virus-created race of brainiac mutants. Banev’s tween daughter Ira is enrolled at a school for gifted children which has been taken over by the mutants, who have grown to despise ordinary humanity.