Gold!

The United States is in a frenzy about the news that gold has been found. This time it is in the Black Hills of the Dakota Territory, started by none other than George Custer who proclaimed that gold had been found in the sacred hunting ground of the Sioux Indians.

Before the Battle of Little Big Horn, the fuse for the massacre was lit by Custer’s massive expedition into Indian lands. Custer brought more than one thousand men, one hundred wagons, horse-drawn Gatling guns and canons, and a herd of three hundred head of cattle to provide food for the troops. They left a swath of destruction that desecrated the Sioux sacred hunting ground.

Half crazed prospectors now rush to the Dakota Territory to get rich quick, further defiling the pristine wilderness. Payback from the Indians will come in time.

As thousands rush to find the yellow metal, the result is not just predictable price gouging, but numerous instances of burglary, theft, and murder. Gold fever spreads through the nation like a plague. 

A concerned President Ulysses S. Grant once again calls on Special Agent to the President: John Crudder, aka the Midnight Marauder, to wade into the fray and be his eyes and ears in the lawless Black Hills.

Along the way, gold fever strikes close to home. Sixteen year old Richie Hanson accompanies John Crudder. Getting caught up in the frenzy himself, he separates from John to find his treasure. Along the way, thieves stomp him until they believe he is dead. Can the Midnight Marauder and Richie escape? Will Crudder succeed in giving the president the guidance he needs to restore sanity to the nation?