The Black Harvest

Written by:

Characters:

  • Veronica Malone
  • Krissy Ryan
  • Evelyn “Lynn” Calico

Veronica Malone

Archetype: hard-boiled detective

DOB: 11/7/1992

Place of Birth: Boston, Massachusetts

Occupation: Detective

Marital Status: Single

Physical description: Dark eyes with brown shoulder-length hair, tan skin, lean build

Bio: She is sharp-tongued, no nonsense, and is always curious to get to the bottom of a case. With a witty sense of humor and a strong moral compass.

Favorite food: Spaghetti

Favorite drink: Dr. Pepper or Espresso Martini

Favorite color: Red

Favorite book: The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

Favorite movie: Probably Ocean’s 11 or Miss Congeniality

Favorite possession: Her journal or her revolver

Personal motto: Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

Krissy Ryan

Archetype: innocent bystander

DOB: 2/20/1999

Place of Birth: Pennsylvania

Occupation: Farmer

Marital Status: Single

Physical description: Muscular, medium-long blonde hair, green eyes, freckles, 5’5, tan skin

Bio: Krissy Ryan was born in a small town in Pennsylvania. Her parents are farmers and their business will be passed on to her when they retire. Krissy is happy with her life but deep down she has always related to characters like Moana or Belle who feel that they were possibly meant for something bigger. Still, she is content and despite some underlying restless feelings. That is until she gets dragged into a mission by her ex boyfriend.

Favorite food: Bacon Cheeseburger

Favorite drink: Cherry Coke 0

Favorite color: Pink

Favorite book: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Favorite movie: Moana

Favorite possession: Her apple watch

Personal motto: “You don’t have to be ready, you just have to be brave”

Evelyn (Lynn) Calico

Archetype: hacker

DOB: 5/19/1998

Place of Birth: Helena, Montana

Occupation: Journalist

Marital Status: Single

Physical description: Short and beautiful. She always wears heals so that she feels like she can be respected in her profession. She has gorgeous blue eyes and a strong posture. She has longer hair than she knows what to do with so she always wears it in a bun.

Bio: Lynn is a strong and independent woman. She moved our of her parents house right out of high school when she went to college out in Montana and stayed there. She is a bit of a work-a-holic and doesn’t go out much. But its nothing to pity on, she loves her alone time and when she isn’t working she is reading and enjoying a glass of wine.

Favorite food: Steak. Rare.

Favorite drink: Your finest wine.

Favorite color: Yellow!

Favorite book: Agatha Christie Novels

Favorite movie: Bad Reality TV

Favorite possession: A photo of her family back home

Personal motto: “As women achieve power, the barriers will fall.”


Setting: The year is 2025, but the world feels stuck in the past. The rich hide behind fortified mansions, while the poor drown in bourbon and broken dreams. Out in rural Pennsylvania, the air is thick with suspicion, small towns swallowed by the creeping influence of corporate greed. The tech is there, but it’s old, clunky, and just another tool for the powerful to keep their boots on the necks of the desperate.


Synopsis:

Krissy Ryan never thought she’d have to fight for her family’s farm—but then again, she never thought her crops would start dying under mysterious circumstances either. The corn and wheat aren’t just withering; they’re rotting from the inside. Desperate for answers, she turns to Evelyn “Lynn” Calico, a journalist known for digging up dirt on the powerful.

But as Lynn starts pulling at the threads, she finds something rotten beneath the soil—encrypted files, missing researchers, and a project called “The Black Harvest.” The deeper she digs, the more dangerous it becomes. Recognizing the need for an investigative mind sharper than her own, Lynn reaches out to an old acquaintance: Veronica Malone, a Boston detective with a reputation for being a pain in the neck of every crooked politician and mobster in town.

Veronica, reluctant but intrigued, follows the trail from Boston to the Pennsylvania farmlands. What she finds is bigger than a local farming crisis, it’s a corporate conspiracy designed to lace food with chemicals engineered to dull resistance and ensure obedience. Someone has been tampering with the food supply, and the last scientist who tried to expose it turned up dead with a data chip clutched in his fist.

The three women form an uneasy alliance, navigating a world where the line between friend and enemy is razor-thin. The deeper they dig, the dirtier it gets. Every clue leads them further into the shadows, and every move they make is watched by men in tailored suits who don’t like their secrets being uncovered.

The climax takes them to the back alleys and smoky lounges of New York City, where the only way to expose the truth is to play the game like the criminals they’re up against. With a desperate plan, a stolen data drive, and nothing left to lose, they take their fight to the highest levels of power. But in a world where justice is just another commodity, winning isn’t just about exposing the truth—it’s about surviving long enough to make it matter.


Digital Media:

  1. Podcast-Style Audio Logs: A series of moody, noir-style recordings from Krissy’s perspective throughout the story.
  2. News Broadcasts: Have news reports of the situation happening in real time.

Themes:

  • The illusion of free will in a controlled society
  • The moral grayness of justice
  • The power of truth versus the power of those who control it
  • Corruption as the currency of power

Conclusion: The world learns of “The Black Harvest,” but change is slow, and justice is fleeting. Veronica, Krissy, and Lynn have won a battle, but the war rages on. Because in a world like this, there are no happy endings, only the next fight.

One response to “The Black Harvest”

  1. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    As a Dashiell Hammett fan, you had me at the title. If you wanted to, you could make this plan fill out the rest of the semester. You’ve already given thought to how it could work as audio and video. The challenge would be to plot it out into three coherent segments.

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