In 'This Bitter Earth', Sugar Lacey is on her way out of Bigelow, Arkansas, where she'd come to break with the past. With her worn leopard-print suitcase and her head held high, she walks past the prying eyes of its small-minded, cruel-hearted townsfolk, praying for the strength to keep going. She doesn't stop until she arrives at her childhood home in Short Junction. Here she learns the truth about her parentage: a terrible tale of unrequited love, of one man's enduring hatred, and of the black magic that has cursed generations of Lacey women.

In 2007, Amy Dunne was barely 17 years old and pregnant with a baby girl who had anencephaly, meaning the baby was certain to die before or at birth. Amy, who was temporarily in the care of the HSE, told a social worker about her plan to travel for a termination. Although she was supported by her family and by the baby's father, she was told by the HSE that it would not be possible for her to travel, so Amy had to fight her case in the High Court. Her private tragedy quickly became an extremely public story.