Tell 'Em Darby's Dead is a pulp western harkening back to the days of dime novel paperbacks, with a revisionist twist. It balances the story of two separate time periods to comment on the glamorization of the Wild West.

Arizona Territory, 1883

James Maguire is a man for hire who has survived on the frontier as a thief and outlaw. Thrown into a pious community he has no use for, Maguire is hired to rid a burgeoning town of a pack of outlaws. The shadows of his past loom large and amidst the unforgiving wilderness, Maguire realizes that his ultimate adversary is a former ally. 

Arizona, 2022

Callie Bordurs and her wife stay at the elegant La Larrea hotel. It’s a stately getaway designed in the style of the classic Spanish haciendas, built against an original Southwest rail line. Callie is at La Larrea to meet with a man she does not know. Despite fearing the encounter, she knows she can’t live with herself if she doesn’t go through with it.

Tell ‘Em Darby’s Dead is a story of resolution and legacy. It’s for those who love westerns and for those who may feel the genre romanticizes the repugnant truth of American history.