A conversation overheard while hiding in a wardrobe in Jordan College changes supposed orphan Lyra's life forever. Torn from her idyllic life in Oxford, Lyra are her daemon Pantalaimon find themselves in the middle of all out battle for access to different realms through a mysterious particle called Dust. As the series progresses, Lyra is pursued by her conniving mother, travels to other worlds and finds unlikely companionship in an ordinary boy named Will. A stunning trilogy about magic, speculative science and the inevitability of growing up.