It was Queensland, the year was 1987, and the State's police force was riddled with corruption. The brotherhood of crooked cops who gave the green light to illegal gambling and prostitution believed they were untouchable. There was a conspiracy of silence, from within the Queensland Government and all the way up to the highest levels of the force. The nature and the extent of the corruption sickened the honest cops, who operated in a world where they could trust no-one. A small band of brave crime fighters, and their families, took the enormous risk to trust a journalist with the State's darkest secrets. The result was 'The Moonlight State', perhaps the most explosive true story ever told on Australian television. Chris Masters' landmark report prompted one of the most important anti-corruption investigations in Australian history, the Fitzgerald Inquiry, which led to the jailing of the Queensland Police Commissioner. But the whole story of how the whistle was blown has never fully been told. Now the key players who put their trust in Chris Masters have come forward to tell their story, on camera, for the first time. The program also reveals the shocking lengths corrupt police went to, to try to silence the whistleblowers, and reporter Chris Masters. Thirty years on from 'The Moonlight State', leading law enforcement figures warn that every police force today must remember the lessons of those dark days so they can never be repeated.

Four Corners is Australia's premier television current affairs program. It has been part of the Australian story since August 1961, exposing scandals, triggering inquiries, firing debate, confronting taboos and interpreting fads, trends and sub-cultures. Its consistently high standards of journalism and film-making have earned international recognition and an array of Walkleys, Logies and other national awards.