"The windows between the many worlds have been sealed and the momentous adventures of Lyra Silvertongue's youth are long behind her--or so she thought. Lyra is now a twenty-year-old undergraduate at St. Sophia's College and intrigue is swirling around her once more. Her daemon Pantalaimon is witness to a brutal murder, and the dying man entrusts them with secrets that carry echoes from their past. The more Lyra is drawn into these mysteries, the less she is sure of. Even the events of her own past come into question when she learns of Malcolm Polstead's role in bringing her to Jordan College. Now Lyra and Malcolm will travel far beyond the confines of Oxford, across Europe and into the Levant, searching for a city haunted by daemons, and a desert said to hold the truth of Dust. The dangers they face will challenge everything they thought they knew about the world, and about themselves."--;Lyra Belacqua, aka Lyra Silvertongue, is an undergraduate at St. Sophia's College. She and her daemon, the soft-furred pine marten Pantalaimon, are alienated to the point of hostility. Lyra falls under the influence of popular writers who express 'universal skepticism' and contempt for sentiment, kindness and faith. When Pantalaimon witnesses a murder, both of them are pulled into a conspiracy involving the Magisterium. Lyra reconnects with Malcolm Polstead, now a professor at the College, but they are soon drawn back into a battle Lyra thought she'd left behind forever. -- adapted from jacket and online reviews.