"Without this child, we shall all die." Lyra Belacqua and her animal daemon live half-wild and carefree among scholars of Jordan College, Oxford. The destiny that awaits her will take her to the frozen lands of the Arctic, where witch-clans reign and ice-bears fight. Her extraordinary journey will have immeasurable consequences far beyond her own world... The first volume in Philip Pullman's incredible HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy. First published in 1995, and acclaimed as a modern masterpiece, it won the UK's top awards for children's literature.