Sabriel opens with a prologue detailing the title character's birth and first encounter with Kerrigor. Almost before she takes her first breath, Sabriel slips past the First Gate of Death to be snatched up by Kerrigor from the stream flowing through the Second Gate. The Abhorsen, her father, follows close on her heels, managing to rescue her and banish Kerrigor for a short period of time. The prologue gives the book a definite fantasy flavor with a magical battle that sets the stage for later events and provides a glimpse into the enmity between man and demon.

The switch from fantasy prologue to a seemingly modern setting jars the senses momentarily until Sabriel secretly resurrects a younger classmate's pet rabbit that was hit by a car. This day, eighteen years later in Ancelstierre at the Wyverly College for Young Ladies of Quality, a messenger from beyond the Gates...