For the one hundred and twenty-six people aboard the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig, April 20, 2010, began like any normal day. Before day's end, the world would bear witness to one of the greatest man-made disasters in U.S. history. It reveals the brave acts of the men and women who rose to the challenge and risked everything to lead others to safety.

A down-and-out silver miner raising a son, self-made oilman Daniel Plainview, whose voracious appetite for oil turns him into a California tycoon in the early years of the 20th century. Getting the oil from the ground is an intensely physical process that later broadens into Plainview's equally indomitable urge to control land and power. Along the way, Plainview deals with a mighty derrick fire, a visit from a long-lost brother, and the ongoing involvement...