A small-town Sheriff is caught between competing criminal empires attempting to swindle oil fortunes from the Osage Indian Tribe, while brazen murders threaten their culture and territory. Inspired by the true story of the Osage and one of the first cases of the FBI, the Yellowstone of Oklahoma.

SYNOPSIS:

Black Moon Rising

A Motion Picture and TV Series

The rags to riches tale based on the true story of the Osage Indian tribe of Oklahoma, written a decade before journalist David Grann's book, "Killers of the Flower Moon."

Forced into a small area of Northeastern Oklahoma, the Osage Indians were herded into a processing center for the Bureau of Indian affairs. Matt Lancaster, a young Lieutenant stops to assist a beautiful squaw (Yellow Clover) who has fallen to her knees. A scuffle with a young Bill Hale, proves to Matt that this man and the BIA are separating the women, men, and children. His officer orders Matt to stand down. These three principals will live to fight another battle.

Early in the 20th century, Matt Lancaster begins his journey as the County Sheriff of a small town in northeastern Oklahoma. On the way to his office, he rides into Pawhuska on his Appaloosa to witness an auction of several Osage squaws. One beautiful woman has gained his attention. Concerned that the gritty cowboys may buy and abuse this woman, he begins to bid along with most of the other men. He wins the bid and begins the relationship that turns into the love of his life.

Clair Yellow Clover (Clair) and Matt find a wonderful home in town. Shortly after their arrival, Matt learns that Osage women begin to disappear, and there are several unsolved murders that Matt is unable to solve. The Osage struck oil in the late 19th Century and since then they have been the target for every criminal in the country. There is an Osage price for things and there is the price for everyone else. Driving home in a brand-new Peirce-Arrow was commonplace in Osage County.

Matt has his suspicions about who may be behind the murders, but no one in town is willing to give Matt any information. Everyone is afraid of what townspeople call this notorious scoundrel, "The King of the Osage Hills". Matt finally meets Bill Hale, the owner of Big Hill Trading Company, but he is unaware that he met Hale years earlier at the BIA site.

Frustrated by his lack of progress, Matt is at his wits end and townspeople begin to question his desire to solve the disappearances and murders. Matt gets a call from Luther Bishop of the FBI. Apparently, Hoover has been convinced by Oklahoma Senators, that the unsolved murders need to be solved. He sends Bishop and a team of agents to Pawhuska immediately.

Meanwhile, at a bootlegger's ranch on the outskirts of town, Grammer (a famous roper and cowboy), is one of Matt's targets of suspicion. Most of the unsavory characters in the area frequent his ranch and are involved in various criminal empires. Mysteriously, Grammer is the target of foul-play. Somehow his brake lines were cut, and he drove off a cliff and perished.

Matt and Luther begin to make progress. After years of abuse, Bill Hale's nephews Ernest and Bryan are willing to implicate their uncle. Unfortunately, few if any other citizens are willing to talk and Hale owns most of the County and State officials. In retaliation for being jailed for 12 days, Hale hires two gunslingers. Late at night the two gunslingers stand on Luther's front porch, knock three times. When Luther opens the door, they unload six slugs each into Luther. The rest of the story profiles Matt's perseverance in court and success in assuring justice was served.

BLACK MOON RISING