This is the story of young Lucas who gets a most precious present for his birthday, a black kitten which he calls Night. Lucas becomes very attached to Night but one day Lucas comes home from school and discovers that his beloved cat has disappeared. He is desperate and no one is able to console him.
'Without this child, we shall all die.' Lyra Belacqua lives half-wild and carefree among the scholars of Jordan College, with her daemon, Pantalaimon, always by her side. But the arrival of her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle - a struggle born of stolen children, witch clans and armoured bears. As she hurtles towards danger in the cold far North, Lyra never suspects the shocking...