All her young life, Basia Zahn has been told to beware of the bots living past the human settlements on McKinley. One day a bot approaches her father on his way home. The bot asks if he'd allow Basia to visit and work on them.

While Basia is a bright teenager, she has no direction in her life. There's no profession she's eager to pursue. She sees the request to her father as a chance to tinker, and maybe do something positive.

Little does she know how that simple request will change not only her life, but the lives and existences of many bots and humans.