Fred Stiller, a cybernetics engineer working for the institute IKZ, becomes the head of a project involving a complex computer simulation that contains a virtual world inhabited by simulated people unaware of their nature. Shortly after Stiller takes over, his predecessor, Professor Vollmer, dies under mysterious circumstances, and other strange events start to unfold, including the sudden disappearance of Stiller's colleague, Guenther Lause. Stiller begins to investigate Vollmer's death and Lause's vanishing, only to discover anomalies that challenge his perception of reality. As Stiller delves deeper, he finds himself navigating a web of conspiracies and deceptions, realizing that the truth might be more staggering than he previously imagined.

Becoming increasingly paranoid, Stiller discovers that the line between the real and the virtual worlds is thinner than previously thought, leading him to question his sanity and the very nature of his existence. In his quest for answers, he encounters a series of characters who either aid or obstruct him, pushing him toward a potential revelation that could upend everything he knows. With pressures mounting from both external threats and his internal doubts, Stiller must piece together the puzzle before time runs out, plunging into a frantic race against an unseen enemy that seems to manipulate the boundaries of his world.