Professor Edward Johnston leads an archaeological study of the village of Castlegard near LaRoque Castle in Dordogne, the site of the 1357 hanging of Lady Claire, sister to Arnaud de Cervole; her martyrdom led Kingdom of France to win the Hundred Years War against the Kingdom of England. Johnston’s team includes Scottish people archaeologist André Marek, Johnston’s students Kate Erickson, Josh Stern, and François Dontelle, and his son Chris who is infatuated with Kate. While excavating a nearby monastery, they find a sarcophagus with the remains of a French knight with a lopped ear, and holding the hand of his lady, an unheard-of practice for the time. Johnston travels to the American headquarters of the ITC Corporation, their sponsor, to question if they have tampered with the site. The students later discover a pair of Johnston’s bifocals and a note begging for help, though both date over 600 years old. When they contact ITC, the company invites them to their headquarters.
