In the year 2060, Earth is divided into 10 sectors. AI has made many jobs obsolete, people are having difficulties finding meaning in life, and many are taking legalized drugs or living in a massive virtual simulation called The World (TW). Humans have also colonized Mars and are beginning to set up on Europa and Callisto, two of Jupiter's moons. The colony on Mars is quite active but primarily a place for hedonism - drinking, drugs, sex, and gambling, are the tamer of the pursuits there.
Back on Earth, there are still vast inequities, even though most people receive income grants. There are some very wealthy people that, though it is denied, control most of the economy and government. Corruption is rife, but to keep control over people, that corruption is deftly hidden.
Percy Harper lives in the city of Victoria in Sector 10, an old school homicide detective who doesn't trust AI, though he has an AI partner called Albert (Albert can be found in Percy's swatch, and when Percy calls him IA, short for "Intelligent Asshole," Albert merely finds it amusing). Despite his controversial ways, Percy is grudgingly seen as the best detective in Sector 10, even as he avoids relying on modern methods. He has a very strong sense of justice and believes that justice is not always consistent with the law.
Percy was married to Tess, who was murdered five years ago by Wang Hu, the head of Baijiu Club, a massive mafia. Percy killed Wang Hu under suspicious circumstances and nearly lost his job, and Baijiu Club still has him in their radar and often follows him. That said, the new boss Hong Tao is happy Percy killed Wang Hu and cleared the way for him to take over. The complicated relationship between Percy and Hong Tao is prevalent throughout the story. Meanwhile, Percy has to care for his 15-year-old daughter, Kirby, even as he continues struggling to cope with his wife's death.
In Murder on Paradise, the first part of the Percy Harper Trilogy, a CEO of a personalized drug company, My Experience, is found dead at home in his bed. At first Percy thinks it was some kinky drug fueled sexual game gone wrong, and with the security cameras off, there is no AI to help them. But then irregularities appear in the CEO's business, and Percy begins to question the CEO's messy divorce with his ex-wife Emma, who remains bitter and is now a reckless drug addict. Could she have done it?
Percy also begins to suspect Verda Quince, a self-made billionaire with a personal history that nobody is sure about. Verda has business interests in nearly every industry, including on Mars Colony, and it is widely assumed she will own most of Europa when things get started there. She is a shareholder in The World and owns or is a shareholder in companies producing the personalized hallucinogenic drugs most people use. Like Percy, Verda believes in money, justice, and fairness, and when the law gets in her way, she has no qualms about breaking it. Indeed, she prefers to do the job herself, a kind of vigilante style that Percy can't help but be attracted to. Could Verda be responsible? And if so, can Percy find it in himself to bring her to justice?
Murder on Paradise is full of twists and turns as Percy races to uncover the mystery while fighting his own personal demons.