Martha Wells's first full-length Murderbot novel begins not long after the end of Exit Strategy, with Murderbot still living on Preservation Station. It has worked as a Security Consultant a few times for Dr. Mensah, and is now working for Dr. Arada on a planetary survey. It will be in first person, Murderbot's POV, like the novellas. On the way back to Preservation, they're ship is attacked by an armed transport who turns out to be ART. Murderbot finds out that ART and its crew had discovered a planet with alien artifacts, but the crew was captured and held prisoner by an unknown force there. The corporation that has jurisdiction won't mount a rescue attempt, and won't let the university that sponsors ART send in a rescue team. ART has escaped to get to Murderbot, and basically kidnaps it and(accidentally) a few members of a Preservation survey team Murderbot is working with, to help ART rescue its crew. ART and Murderbot will have to work together to rescue the crew, discover what the unknown force is, and dodge the corporation that wants to exploit it.