"I'm just trying to wake up - I'm so afraid of sleeping all my life and then dying - I want to wake up first! I wouldn't care if it was just for an hour, as long as I was properly alive and awake - I don't know if this is real or not, even - but I will help you, Roger! I swear I will!"

Lost in a valley by the snow line lies Lyra Belacqua, sleeping a drugged sleep under the control of her doting, deceitful mother. While she sleeps, she dreams hateful images of her own act of betrayal, her childhood companion whispering her name, entreating her from the depths of a dark place.

Lyra has a task, a fate to fulfil, and already her partner in that burden is seeking her. Will, the boy from another world, is approaching her prison. Together they have a journey to make, in strange company, before they reach the battle they have long been destined to face...