Lyra Belacqua (SILVERTONGUE), 11-year-old a precocious orphan growing up within the precincts of Jordan College in Oxford, England. It quickly becomes clear that Lyra's Oxford is not precisely liked our own - nor is her world. In Lyra's world, everyone has a personal dmon, a lifelong animal familiar. This is a world in which science, theology and magic are closely intertwined. These ideas are of little concern to Lyra, who at the outset of the story. One day she and Pantalaimon (pan) an animal-formed, shape-shifting manifestation of her soul prevent an assassination secretly enters the Retiring Room, Inside the room, they see the Master of the college attempt to poison Lord Asriel, Lyra's uncle. Lord Asriel shows the resident scholars a picture of mysterious elementary particles called Dust. Shortly afterwards Lord Asriel goes north, and Lyra continues with her normal life. Spends most of her time with her friend Roger, a kitchen boy. Together, they share a carefree existence scampering across the roofs of the college, racing through the streets of Oxford, or waging war with the other children in town. It is at this time that children mysteriously began to disappear. Children, and only the children, are vanishing at the hands of what become known as the "Gobblers." Who the Gobblers are and what they want is unknown, but soon, children from far and wide are disappearing with out a trace, even Lyra's good friend, Roger.
Lyra vows to rescue him, and finds her chance when a visiting woman of great importance, Mrs. Marisa Coulter, a beautiful and bewitching woman. Mrs. Coulter is a scholar and an explorer - seemingly everything that Lyra could ever hope to be. Mrs. Coulter takes Lyra under her wing and employs her as an assistant to help in the next expedition to explore the Arctic North. On the morning she is to leave Jordan College, but the Master of the school gives Lyra a priceless object: an alethiometer. Resembling a golden compass, a rare and powerful instrument with the power to reveal the truth in all things. the answer to any question asked by the user.Although initially unable to read or understand its complex meanings, Lyra takes it with her to Mrs. Coulter's flat. Lyra becomes suspicious of Mrs. Coulter's motives when Mrs. Coulter's dmon (a golden monkey) searches Lyra's room for the alethiometer. While under Mrs. Coulter's guidance, Lyra learns of her mentor's critical role in Church's General Oblation Board, the Gobblers, who have been kidnapping children, and that Mrs. Coulter is the head of an organization It is revealed that these kidnapped children are taken to Bolvangar, a place in the far North, to participate in Dust experiments whereby they are severed from their dmons through a process called intercision. Lyra also learns that the Church has captured and imprisoned Lord Asriel in the Arctic region of Bolvanger where he has undertaken Dust experiments of his own.
Horrified at what she has learned, Lyra and Pantalaimon flee Mrs. Coulter's home in the middle of the night and are rescued through the kindness of two gyptian men. The gyptians are a gypsy group of boat-people who live a harsh life on the water tempered by their unwavering sense of family, loyalty and love. It is the gyptians' children who have suffered most at the hands of the Gobblers, and they have vowed to travel North to rescue them. Lyra pledges to share what she knows, rescue her dear friend Roger, and ultimately find her imprisoned father. Through the gyptian elders, Lord Faa and Farder Coram, Lyra is bewildered to learn that her parents are Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter. Despite this shock, Lyra quickly learns to read the alethiometer and understand its messages. Although her alethiometer enables her to discover the truth in everything around her, Lyra is unaware of the incredible role her own life plays in the fate of the universe. Lyra is the subject of a great prophecy in which she is destined to commit a fateful betrayal that will determine the future of all worlds.
To succeed in the rescue mission for the children, the gyptians enlist the alliances of three people who come to regard Lyra dearly: Serafina Pekkalas, the witch queen who reveals that the fate of universe lies in Lyra's future; Lee Scoresby, a Texan aeronaut and commander of a hot air balloon; and Iorek Byrnison, a renegade armored polar bear, deposed as king of his clan by a deceitful brother. While on their long, hard journey in the far north, they discovers that the children kidnapped by the Gobblers are having their dmons cut away from them, by way of experiment. Shortly after this revelation, the group is attacked, and Lyra is taken to the experimentation facility in Bolvangar.(The place where all the kidnapped children have been brought) At long last, Lyra is happily reunited with Roger, but to her horror, she witnesses intercision, the gruesome Dust experiment that separates child and dmon. Banding together, she andRoger devises a plan of escape. Lyra comes across Mrs. Coulter, who tries to take the alethiometer from her. Narrowly escaping her clutches once again, the children and their daemons escape the terrors of Bolvangar, fleeing into the safety of the gyptians, Serafina Pekkala's witches, Lee Scoreby's balloon, and Iorek Byrnison. Although the children are rescued, the journey for Lyra and Roger is far from over. Now that Lyra has found Roger, she wishes to deliver the alethiometer to Lord Asriel, who is imprisoned at Svalbard, the fortress of the armoured bears, because of his experiments on Dust, which the Church opposes. On their way to Svalbard, the bat-like cliff-ghasts attack the balloon; Lyra is thrown out, but lands safely. The armoured bears then capture her. She manages to trick the usurping bear-king, Iofur Raknison, into allowing Iorek Byrnison to fight to regain his throne. Lord Asriel is so influential that he has managed to accumulate the necessary equipment to continue his experiments on Dust.. And Lyra finally finds her father, Lord Asriel. Thereafter she travels to Lord Asriels cabin, accompanied by both Iorek and Roger. Lord Asriel has experimented with Dust and has discovered its role in crossing the barriers into other worlds. After explaining the nature of Dust, which is an emanation from another world, and the existence of parallel universes to Lyra, Unable to sacrifice his own child, lyra Lord Asriel takes Roger and a great deal of scientific equipment. He constructs a bridge to another world, but crossing that bridge requires the energy released in an intercision. Roger his prey and escapes to another world. The universe has been broken. Lyra pursues him, but Roger is killed when he is severed from his dmon. This act releases an enormous amount of energy, which, due to Lord Asriels equipment, tears a hole through the sky into a parallel world. And Lyra's friend lies dead, but she vows get revenge and discover the secret of Dust. Lord Asriel walks through into the new world. Lyra decides to follow him, on the advice of Pantalaimon
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