In a world where humans have animal-shaped daemons, 11-year-old Malcolm Polstead lives a quiet life near Oxford until he discovers that baby Lyra Belacqua is being hidden at a nearby priory. As political and religious forces close in to capture her, Malcolm and a teenager named Alice are forced to flee with Lyra in Malcolm’s canoe, La Belle Sauvage.
Their journey takes them through a massive flood and many dangers—both human and magical—as they fight to protect the baby from powerful enemies. The novel explores the clash between free thought and religious authority and sets the stage for Lyra’s future adventures in His Dark Materials.