The Golden Monkey and Other Shiny Objects

June 2077. El Paso PI Elvyra Prezly has been hired to find a statuette, stolen from her client, Hermione Jalisco. "The Golden Monkey" is the only tangible link that Hermione has to her son, Javier, found drowned in a lake within El Paso's Ascarate Park two years ago.Elvyra and her fiancé/colleague, Charles "Chuck" Paladino arrive at Hermione's home, located in a senior community of manufactured homes, to interview her. The door is slightly open. She and Chuck step inside and are both hit with a taser. Hermione is nowhere to be found.

Two days later, Chuck and Elvyra are back searching for Hermione. Surveillance vids and cab company records lead them to the address where a cab dropped her off—there they find Hermione tied up and abandoned in an empty house. After her rescue, the case becomes more complicated, with a suspected drug smuggling ring tied to her assailants. Detective Tai Vanh and his partner, Olga, the first AI humanoid detective in the department, are assigned to the case. Later, the FBI forms a task force with the El Paso police to investigate the smuggling ring. Elvyra and Chuck continue to search for the statuette, now thought to contain cut diamonds.

When Chuck and Elvyra return from their short honeymoon, they discover that Geraldo Panama, the 22-year-old IT tech and son of the park manager, has not been forthcoming on a number of questions they asked. He and Javier, friends in high school, had a bitter falling out over Alisa Alvarez, a young woman they both dated. Alisa believes Geraldo murdered Javier after they returned from Oaxaca Mexico, where Geraldo helped Javier buy goods for his new business in El Paso.

Was Geraldo involved in Javier's drowning? Did he steal the figurine from Hermione's home? Hermione volunteers at Sara's Place, a group home for teenage girls, and often invites the girls to visit her, including 14-year-old Belinda Sanchez, who claims that Geraldo showed her the statuette and promised it to her in exchange for sex.

As Elvyra and Chuck put pressure on Geraldo, his behavior becomes more erratic and hostile. With Detective Vanh's cooperation, they devise a plan to trap Geraldo. Will the information they uncover lead to the location of the Golden Monkey? Or will the clever and dangerous computer geek outwit them?