This Bitter Earth

This Bitter Earth follows Henry Calloway, a battle-hardened Vanguard soldier whose very touch can rip apart flesh and steel. Haunted by memories of Hiroshima and burdened by the scars of a clandestine war, Henry tries to build a civilian life in postwar Chicago. But as he drifts through factory floors and back alleys, he’s drawn back into a shadowy government operation—the Office of Special Projects—tasked with policing superhuman threats among the city’s simmering labor disputes and organized crime. When old debts and new enemies collide, Henry must navigate a treacherous landscape of loyalty, betrayal, and a power he can’t outrun.

The world of This Bitter Earth crackles with grit and menace, blending noir-infused postwar America with a haunting undercurrent of superhuman experimentation gone awry. The Vanguard—soldiers transformed by wartime science into living weapons—are relics of a conflict that never quite ended. From the smog-choked streets of Chicago to the backroom deals of Boston’s union bosses, every alley and factory floor hums with tension. Secret government agencies maneuver to control the dangerous talents unleashed by the war, while ghosts of Hiroshima’s devastation echo in Henry’s restless hands. This is a world where every handshake carries a hidden threat—and even the strongest man can find himself on the wrong side of the line.