Orphan Lyra Belacqua's world is upended by her long-absent uncle's return from the North; the glamorous Mrs Coulter visits Jordan College with a proposition.

Lyra arrives to her new life in London, determined to find Roger with Mrs Coulter's help; the Gyptians continue their search for the missing children and the elusive Gobblers.

Following her kidnapping, Lyra falls in with a new group but struggles to know who to trust.

Arriving north, Lyra seeks allies in the witches, an aeronaut and an armoured bear.

The alethiometer sends Lyra and Iorek on a new path, leading to a shocking but vital clue.

Lyra finds what she is looking for in the far North, but needs to survive.