The second volume of The Book of Dust follows Lyra as a young woman in her twenties, a student at Oxford whose relationship with her daemon Pantalaimon has fractured under the influence of rationalist philosophy that denies the reality of the imagination. When Pan leaves her - an act of separation usually reserved for witches - Lyra is forced to pursue him across a landscape that is increasingly dangerous as the Magisterium extends its reach into Central Asia. The Secret Commonwealth is the darkest and most complex work in the wider universe, engaging with questions of faith, imagination, and political repression in ways that feel more urgently adult than anything in the original trilogy. The explicit treatment of a refugee crisis drew considerable comment on publication.
