Lyra, a young girl who lives within Jordan, a fictitious Oxford college otherwise full of adult, male scholars, is challenged when she is thrust into a mysterious quest for a substance called "dust." She first learns of it when she and her daemon, an external embodiment of a person's soul, are eavesdropping on a meeting between the scholars and a famous explorer. Lord Asriel, whom she knows because he has visited the college before and has taken a casual interest in her development, must be rescued from the Master of the college. Lyra sees the Master trying to poison Lord Asriel, warns him, and is then taken into his confidence.
However, his comments pique her curiosity about many things such as the church and her own history, which she has heretofore taken for granted. When.....
