García kills various bad guys as he searches for clues in the opium dens, curio shops, and Cantonese restaurants of Mexico City’s Chinatown - clues that appear to point not to Mongolia, but to Cuba. Only a couple of days before the state visit of the President of the United States, Filiberto García - an impeccably groomed 'gun for hire,' ex-Mexican revolutionary, and classic anti-hero - is recruited by the Mexican police to discover how much truth there might be to KGB and FBI reports of a Chinese-Mongolian plot to assassinate the Soviet and American presidents during the unveiling of a statue.

Bernal's tale, described by novelist Francisco Goldman as 'The best fucking novel ever written about Mexico City,' is a lively, memorable romp through international intrigue and the dark recesses of the Mexico City underground. Filiberto, despite his ornery nature, is a fantastically conceived character, perhaps as memorable as any other in the genre. The Mongolian Conspiracy is an enthralling, high-paced, and frequently funny crime/detective thriller. As García nears revelations that will unravel the plot, a love interest steals his heart, and his frustrations of having to deal with others boil over. García's investigation leads him throughout the Mexican capital, chasing leads into Chinatown, working together with American and Russian counterparts, and encountering a host of shady, enigmatic characters that more often than not end up losing their lives. The Mongolian Conspiracy, the most popular of his works, follows Filiberto García, a cantankerous hired gun tasked with uncovering an alleged plot to assassinate both the American and Mexican presidents. Mexico City–born novelist, playwright, and poet Rafael Bernal is best known for his detective fiction.

El complot mongol by Rafael Bernal