A fateful decision made in 1960s China reverberates in the present, where a group of scientists partner with a detective to confront an existential planetary threat.

During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, a young astrophysicist considered a political dissident is employed at a secret military radio station. Forty years later, a number of scientists all over the world start taking their own lives. A nanotechnology expert starts having visions of an ominous countdown. The key to the mystery might lie in a strange VR game that uses advanced technology.