Dauntless is the story of Clayton Paul Hilliard, a poor farm boy from Wisconsin who enlisted in the US Marine Corps as a teenager, served in the Pacific theater as an aviator, and returned to attend university on the GI Bill. His education was a springboard into a very successful career as an entrepreneur, independent oil man, and industry leader. Always looking for ways to give back, he also became a philanthropist and generous donor to educational and cultural institutions in the city of Lafayette and throughout southern Louisiana.

Paul's story highlights some of the most fascinating decades in American history: the impact of World War II, the importance of post-war social and economic changes, and the development of the oil industry from the 1950s to today. In short, Dauntless is as much a history of the United States in the twentieth century as it is a personal biography of an influential leader in Louisiana and beyond.