Will searches for Lyra by moving from one world to the next, while he is pursued by a pair of angels preparing for the coming war. While Mrs. Coulter keeps Lyra in a dreamlike state, Lord Asriel seeks to recruit a General for his fight.

As the forces of the Magisterium press in on Marisa and Lyra, Will arrives on the island and confronts Mrs. Coulter. Elsewhere, Asriel receives an angel prisoner and learns of the knife bearer.

Lyra determines to go into the Land of the Dead to try and help Roger, and Asriel and Marisa are reunited. As Will and Lyra make their way through the desert, his loss of the knife threatens the chances of victory in the war to come.

Lyra and Will enter the Land of the Dead, where Lyra must turn to a specter who is very close to her in order to find Roger. Mrs. Coulter returns to the Magisterium in an attempt to win the trust of Cardinal MacPhail.

Mary continues to make her way through an alien world in search of Lyra and Will, and makes an astonishing discovery. Lyra and Will finally find Roger amidst a dark and dangerous land, and Marisa faces the judgment of the Magisterium.

Lyra and Will struggle to lead the prisoners through the abyss, while the world suffers from the Authority's radical actions. Asriel is challenged by those he believed were his allies, threatening to bring his fragile alliance to an end.

Asriel and his Republic receive a dire warning that an attack from Metatron is imminent. As Lyra and Will try to find their way back to their demons, Marisa is convinced she may be the only one capable of defeating the enemy.

Lyra and Will travel through a new world in order to reunite with their demons only to encounter Mary, who reveals the truth about Dust. While the worlds await the fulfillment of prophecy, a hunter from the Magisterium stalks the new Eve.