At a time when the forces of evil seem to be gaining the upper hand, Harry comes of age in the wizarding world, and must take on and defeat Voldemort--or be killed himself.
Lyra Belacqua tries to prevent kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments, helps Will Parry search for his father, and finds that she and Will are caught in a battle between the forces of the Authority and those gathered by her uncle, Lord Asriel.
Since Meggie's bookbinder father can "read" fictional characters to life one abducts them; Meggie "reads" herself into Inkworld as the original creator of the world tries to redirect the story; and the Book of Immortality starts to unravel.