It's 1870 in Pennsylvania's Oil Creek Valley, the birthplace of America's petroleum industry. Jonathan Dawes and his company, Paragon Oil, caused a well explosion that destroyed a loving family and their farm. Seeking redemption, Jonathan descends into a world of wealth, greed, and violence to rescue Cassie Owen, one of the unconventional Owen sisters who despise the oil business. Letty Owen believes a greed-driven madman abducted her sister because she discovered a legal means to prevent drilling on their land. Land that could produce millions in petroleum. The authorities doubt Letty's story because of the sisters' eccentric reputations and offer no help. Jonathan's best friend, Cooper, is a newspaper reporter who challenges Letty's sanity. He only helps Jonathan to protect him and to debunk her delusions. Jonathan, Letty and Cooper follow clues that reveal others may have known about Cassie's mysterious plan, but all of them die under uncertain circumstances. They struggle to name Cassie's abductor, but because of the trail of death the man leaves behind, they know he will kill anyone who attempts to rescue her. Jonathan must decide if he's willing to lose everything, including his life, to save Cassie and her family's orchard from the new world he helped create. A world consumed by oil fever.