During the Prador-human war, the rogue AI Penny Royal turned its victims into grotesque fusions of flesh and technology, granting wishes that always came with a hidden cost. Years later, Jenny is more unsettled by the trapdoor spider that's moved into her ship than by the war creeping toward her home system, until the spider returns in a form she never could have imagined, carrying Penny Royal's legacy with it.
Summary by Loreful, from public sources