An Untimely Death is an exciting science fiction and fantasy adventure for young adults. In the present day, Peter is fourteen and lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He’s long known about the stories concerning the experiences of his great-grandfather, Ted, during World War II, when he served with the Canadian Army. Peter knows that Ted participated in the invasion of Normandy in 1944, then in the Allied advance across Europe and into the Netherlands and Germany following D-Day.
When Ted passes away, Peter is looking through his great-grandfather’s belongings in the attic. Peter looks at some of Ted’s campaign medals, although Ted’s friend, Frank, had received the Military Medal, after saving the life of a young Dutch girl. The medal was awarded posthumously since Frank had been killed in action shortly after his heroic act. Peter also examines an old coin, which he knows Ted had found in a ruined house during the fighting in the Netherlands. The coin depicts the head of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and Peter is aware that Princess Juliana, who later became the Queen, lived in Ottawa during the war, establishing strong links between Canada and the Netherlands. Absentmindedly, Peter flips the coin and the attic around him vanishes.
To his astonishment, Peter finds himself in the Battle of the Scheldt in the Southern Netherlands in 1944. He encounters the younger versions of Ted and Frank, as well as the Dutch girl, but Peter’s presence in the past has disastrous consequences for the world he knows when he returns to his own era. Suspecting that he may have very limited opportunities to make a difference, Peter embarks on a highly dangerous mission to ensure that history is placed back on track, before it’s too late.
