Ophelia's Gold

by Susan Smith Nash

Season 1

Ophelia's Gold: Chapter 20 - Michelangelo's Revenge

The absurd circumstances of Marcus's mother's death—a plaster Michelangelo head falling from her nightstand—give way to deeper mystery when Marcus reveals what she was reaching for: the bundle of treasure maps and a jeweled dagger that would link her to the Farley Kritzoff legend.

Ophelia's Gold: Chapter 18 - The Destiny Maker

Marcus and Ophelia, both teenagers, share their first kiss beside his family's pool on the night his mother died. He gives her the "cursed" treasure maps, and she promises to help uncover their secrets—a vow that will shape decades of her life.

Ophelia's Gold: Chapter 17 - The Hidden Temple

In a flashback to his Vietnam service, young Captain Harville navigates a blood-dark Laotian river to a vine-covered Buddhist stupa where a diminutive monk warns him about becoming one of the temple's "Keepers." He awakens with no memory of his return—but a dragon tattoo seared into his palm.

Ophelia's Gold: Chapter 16 - Savage Peace

Ophelia and Stanton meet in South Beach, Miami, their dangerous professions hinted at through references to death squads, surveillance, and an "Ambassador" who assigns questionnaires. Their mutual darkness creates an instant, violent attraction as they discuss what it means to be "God's Hostage."

Ophelia's Gold: Chapter 15 - Trap Door to Oblivion

Inside the Cave of Whispers, Stanton reveals the "Trap Door"—a collapsed limestone floor above a raging underground river. The perfect booby trap for hiding treasure, it could also claim the lives of the unwary. Their passionate embrace at the cave's edge is interrupted by two young men in black ties.

Ophelia's Gold: Chapter 14 - Cave of Whispers

Stanton pulls Ophelia back from the entrance of a limestone cave near Three Horses River, warning her of a deadly drop into an underground river. The cave's "whispers" are the sound of rushing water—and possibly the perfect hiding place for stolen jade.

Ophelia's Gold: Chapter 13 - The Treasure Detector

Ophelia's father demonstrates his plasma-ball Vector Generator, which can theoretically locate treasure by matching frequency signatures. However, treasure typically registers as "infinitely negative"—a warning that seeking it may destroy the seeker.

Ophelia's Gold: Chapter 12 - Treasure of the Blue Cave

Dad explains the legend of the Pink Lady Bandits—Captain Endes-Wicker and Miss Rosamund, displaced Confederate refugees who became Robin Hood-style thieves in northern Arizona. Their treasure, hidden in a "Blue Cave," becomes another thread in the novel's tapestry of buried secrets and dangerous pursuits.

Ophelia's Gold: Chapter 11: Farley's Treasure Map

In the aftermath of Marcus's mother's sudden death—killed by a falling plaster Michelangelo head while reaching for something beside her bed—young Ophelia receives a bundle of old treasure maps purchased at a yard sale. The maps belonged to Farley Kritzoff, a Russian immigrant gold prospector, and Marcus believes they are cursed.

Ophelia's Gold: Chapter 9 - Santa Ana Secrets

Another Palm Springs flashback reveals the 15-year-old Ophelia struggling with unnamed emotional turmoil, secretly binge-eating in her hotel room while Santa Ana winds howl outside. The chapter establishes her long history of using food and pain to manage overwhelming feelings she cannot name.

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