The Golden Compass

The story begins when Lyra BelacquaвЂ"an orphaned, eleven year old girl residing at Jordan CollegeвЂ"secretly enters the Retiring Room, despite resistance from her dÐ"¦mon, Pantalaimon; an animal-formed, shape-shifting manifestation of her soul. Inside the room, they see the Master of Jordan 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.

However, before long her friend Roger is kidnapped by "the Gobblers", who are the subject of a children's superstition. Lyra vows to rescue him, and finds her chance when a visiting woman of great importance, Mrs. Coulter, offers to take Lyra away from Jordan College to become her apprentice. Lyra assents, but before she leaves is entrusted with a priceless object by the Master of the College: an alethiometer. Resembling a golden compass, it is a device able to reveal 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. Before long, Lyra becomes suspicious of Mrs. Coulter's motives when Mrs Coulter's dÐ"¦mon searches Lyra's room for the alethiometer.

At a party hosted by Mrs. Coulter, Lyra discovers that Mrs. Coulter is the head of a church organization known as the "General Oblation Board" and that this board is, in fact, the "Gobblers" who have been kidnapping children. The horror of this discovery causes Lyra to take advantage of the hubbub of the party to flee Mrs. Coulter's flat.

After fleeing the flat she is rescued by the gyptians, a group of nomadic, canal-boat-dwelling people, who afterwards reveal that Lord Asriel and Mrs Coulter are none other than Lyra's father and mother. She also learns that many children like Roger have been disappearing from among the gyptians, and that the gyptians are planning an expedition to the north to rescue the missing children. During her time with the gyptians, Lyra inexplicably learns how to operate the alethiometer without the appropriate tutorship and references.

Lyra joins the expedition to the north, and on the journey discovers that the children kidnapped by “the Gobblers” are having their dÐ"¦mons cut away from them in experiments. Shortly after this revelation, the group is attacked, and Lyra is taken to the experimentation facility in Bolvangar.

Inside it she locates Roger and builds up a plan of escape, but gets caught trying to flee. Lyra once again comes across Mrs