Book excerpt: Simon Savage, the temponauts and the Time Bureau are on full alert. The plague known as the "Black Death" is striking cities all over the world. There are fears of a global pandemic. Missions to the past reveal the plague has been carried to the present time by the fleas on rats from the fourteenth century. But who is behind this deadly scheme? The Time Bureau has its suspicions. Simon, Danice, Ivan, Nick and Taylor face an epic struggle across the eons with a sinister group of time travellers.. Meanwhile, Simon must find his family. Where have they gone? Can Simon unravel the clues to their disappearance? Can he protect them from the Time Bureau itself? The adrenalin-pumping action continues in Send Simon Savage: Return of the Black Death.