Sard Harker: A novel

In a lush sugar kingdom where plantations sprawl along a seven‑hundred‑mile coast, the bustling port city of Santa Barbara hides a scarred past. The New Town’s square, lined with gaudy facades, still bears the memory of “las casas de los últimos suspiros,” the cursed houses built after a tyrant’s brutal reign. Stories of Don Lopez’s cruelty linger in whispered rumors, giving the city an uneasy tension between its vibrant present and the shadows of its history.

Against this backdrop, Don Manuel San Substantio Encinitas returns from exile, haunted by the murder of his beloved Carlotta and the slaughter of his followers. After a desperate flight across the water, he is rescued by the English barque Venturer, which ferries him to safety and fuels a simmering resolve. Back in Santa Barbara, he begins a careful, clandestine plan to confront the lingering remnants of the old dictatorship, setting the stage for a clash of loyalties and a fight for a new future.