Book excerpt: The year is 1455 and with England under the control of the Duke of York, Jack Templeman is sent on a series of secret missions by Queen Margaret in a bid to gain back power for the House of Lancaster. Caught between the influence of the Earl of Warwick, and his allegiance to his King, Jack is disturbed by a succession of anonymous attempts upon his life. As York's influence wanes, Jack finds himself wrapped in a maze of deceit; confused by the omnipresence of death and conflicting loyalties. As his relationship with Elizabeth blossoms, will peace last long enough for them to settle together, or will the bickering feuds break into full scale war? Will he survive the shadow of death or fall prey to the foreboding Black Shuck? From the wilderness of northern England, to the perilous seas of the Channel; from the fortress of Kenilworth to the tournament fields of the Welsh Marches, this is the second Jack Templeman novel, The Quests of the Silver Knight, from the period now known as The Wars of the Roses