In 1999, Professor Edward Johnston heads a team of historians and archaeologists in studying a site in the Dordogne region of France
where the medieval towns of Castelgard and La Roque stood. Suspicious
of ITC's (their funder) detailed knowledge of the site, Johnston flies
to their headquarters in New Mexico
to investigate. Soon the archaeologists find modern objects — that they
recognize as Johnston's eyeglasses — amongst untouched ruins.
Researchers Chris Hughes, Kate Erickson, André Marek (a medieval
re-enactor), and David Stern fly to ITC. They learn that Johnston
traveled to 1357, to the site they were excavating, but did not return
as expected.
Chris, Kate, and André travel to the past with two experienced ITC
employees and are given 37 hours to return with Johnston. Upon
arriving, one of the ITC guides pulls out a pistol and several hand
grenades, arguing to the lead guide that even though Doniger (the owner
of ITC) had strictly forbidden bringing any modern day artifacts into
the past, this mission could be very dangerous. Shortly after, the ITC
employees are killed by Sir Guy de Malegant who is chasing a boy
through the woods. As the horse archers gallop out the forest, the
rebellious guide runs to the time machine, grabs a grenade, and pulls
the pin. Moments before he can throw it, an arrow punctures his chest
and throat, killing him and driving him into the time machine. The
machine instantly reverts back to the present, with the dead guide and
the armed hand grenade with it. In the lab, the time machine apears,
and the hand grenade
blows up damaging the return site, and preventing the time travelers
from coming back until it is repaired. Sir Guy de Malegant also
tramples the already dead lead guide (Gomez) with his horse. Stern, who
had stayed behind because he did not trust the explanation of
time-travel methodology given (particularly concerning matter
destruction and reconstruction), proves to be helpful to ITC in their
efforts to rescue everyone. Yet throughout the story, their efforts are
ignored and sometimes stalled by ITC founder Robert Doniger because he
prizes good public relations over human lives.
Kate and André see Johnston being taken away by the men of Lord
Oliver of Castelgard. Separated from the others, Chris follows the boy
and accidentally declares himself as a noble. The boy leads Chris to
Castelgard and reveals herself as Lady Claire in disguise and running
from a suitor. In the castle, Chris and André find themselves
challenged to
joust
Sir Guy and his second. Chris, thanks to André's instruction, survives
the joust and André defeats both Sir Guy and his second. Sir Oliver
orders the death of André and Chris for dishonoring Sir Guy. Kate helps
them escape, but from then on they are pursued by the forces of Oliver,
most notably Sir Guy and Sir Robert de Kere
Sir Oliver believes that Johnston knows a secret passageway into the otherwise impenetrable castle
of La Roque. Arnaut de Cervole is approaching Castelgard to lay siege
and Oliver must know this secret to successfully defend the castle.
Johnston helps Oliver, despite knowing that, historically, he loses the
siege, but he never gains Oliver's trust. Chris, André, and Kate use
Johnston's clues (which they had uncovered in 1999) to find the secret
passageway themselves in order to save Johnston.
Chris and company learn that someone else from 1999 is also in the
past with them and has been spying on their transmissions, always
staying one step ahead in their pursuit for Lord Oliver. ITC knows that
Rob Deckard, an employee and former marine
who went insane from too many "transcription errors" (slight mistakes
in the matter reconstruction process), went into 1357 more than a year
ago and never returned. Eventually Robert de Kere reveals his identity
to the researchers and tells them that he has no intention of
permitting their return to 1999.
Kate, Chris, and André are captured by Arnaut's men but are saved by
Lady Claire and later escape. André enters La Roque as Johnston's
assistant. As Arnaut prepares his siege, Oliver decides that Johnston
is hiding information and takes him to a torture
device to drown him. Meanwhile Chris and Kate find the secret
passageway and enter La Roque. Kate kills Sir Guy and Arnaut's men
begin to enter La Roque. Arnaut and André find Oliver about to drown
Johnston, but save Johnston and leave Oliver to drown instead.
ITC and Stern finally repair the landing area just in time for the
returning travelers. Chris kills Robert de Kere and the team escapes
the chaos of the siege to return back to 1999. André, who dreamt of
living as a knight in the Middle Ages, decides to stay in the past and
marry Lady Claire. After learning of Doniger's true reason for
developing time travel technology, to create historically accurate and
genuine tourist attractions, ITC employees transport him to Castelgard
circa 1348, where he finds himself immersed in the Black Death.
Months later, Chris, a pregnant Kate, and Johnston go to a castle where
there are two burial stones, one depicting Claire, and the other
depicting André. Documents stated that André and Claire were deeply in
love and had five children. André's family motto was
mes compaingnons cui j'amoie et cui j'aim, ... Me di, chanson, meaning "Companions whom I loved, and still do love,... Tell them, my song."
