Will and Lyra walk along the road, asking the people where they are, but none answer.

Pan whines. Lyra asks him to stop. He asks where the daemons are, and she tells him there are plenty of worlds without daemons. Pan insists some of them should have daemons, but they don't. Lyra tucks him in her pocket.

Will expresses concern for Pan. They come upon a large warehouse and head in.

Mrs. Coulter pilots the intention craft to the Magisterium's headquarters in Geneva. She enters, followed by Roke. The guards draw on her, telling her to stop.

Father Gomez comes out, and Mrs. Coulter greets him pleasantly, asking them to tell the Cardinal that she is back.

People walk through the great warehouse. Lyra recognizes the inside of it from her dreams. A buzzer rings, and a supervisor tells everyone to stop. He points out Will and Lyra, saying they are not dead.

Lyra approaches him, saying they were running away from some men and just found themselves there. The supervisor tells them they are not welcome. Lyra says she needs to find her friend. He tells her to go to holding area 32 and gives them a piece of paper.

Lyra asks how long they will need to wait. He says until they die. Will and Lyra walk away, looking at the paper, which bears a circle with a line through it. Lyra tells Will they need to find the water and cross it.

Father Gomez is silent as he walks with Mrs. Coulter, who reminds him of all the lovely words that the Cardinal fed him. He says MacPhail is no longer Cardinal but Father President, assures her the words were his own, and tells her they knew she was coming.

Gomez and Coulter arrive at MacPhail's office. MacPhail dismisses Gomez, leaving the two of them alone.

Roke tails Gomez.

MacPhail says Mrs. Coulter is under arrest. She tells him she is here to help voluntarily, she just had to escape Asriel, and she even brought a piece of his technology. MacPhail says the alethiometer was clear about the child.

Mrs. Coulter asks if he's still hurting himself. She reminds him she made him Cardinal, and he betrayed her. MacPhail reminds her that her daughter is sin.

Mrs. Coulter explains that Lyra is merely the potential for sin. She explains that she was protecting Lyra from temptation, which is how Eden fell, and she had to keep her from meeting the "serpent," but then he sent his troops and scared her and the boy away.

Mrs. Coulter asks if Fra Pavel told MacPhail about the god-killing knife, which she broke, and says she can be useful to him and not leave Lyra to her. MacPhail asks if Asriel is still looking for Lyra, and she tells him no -- he just wanted the knife. She tells MacPhail that she saw Asriel murder an angel in front of her.

Mrs. Coulter expresses her devotion to the Magisterium and MacPhail, and he holds out his ring for her to kiss, which she does. She grabs his wrist, urges him to remember what they have done together, and kisses his ring again.

Lyra and Will arrive in holding room 32. They hand their paper to the man at the desk. He tells them to go to holding area 507.

Father Gomez brings Mrs. Coulter a peace offering -- her old clothes.

Lord Roke appears and makes himself known to Mrs. Coulter. She asks if Asriel has sent him, and he confirms it. She questions whether he's here to spy or help. Roke asks her plan. He says his lodestone was damaged, so he cannot communicate with Asriel. 

Roke guesses she intends to kill them before they kill Lyra but warns she puts herself at risk too easily. Mrs. Coulter asks Roke what he knows of the Magisterium. Roke tells Mrs. Coulter that he's been following Gomez, who seems particularly interested in one room.

Dr. Mary's world is hot, and she is tired and sweaty. She casts the I Ching again under a lone tree and cries.

Lyra and Will walk through the warehouse. A man, Peter, asks them who they are. They say they're heading to the land of the dead. Peter says he's on the same path. Lyra says they need to know the rules of the place.

Peter welcomes them into yet another waiting room filled with people. Lyra introduces herself, saying she is looking for her friend, who is in the land of the dead, and they need to figure out where they are.

An older lady, Larissa, says her Death should have told her, and Lyra explains that she doesn't have a Death because she isn't dead. Peter tells them to sit.

Peter explains that they are close to Death and are ready, but their Deaths aren't prepared to take them yet. Peter explains that each person has a death, with them their entire life, from the moment they are born.

Lyra asks if they can see her Death, and he explains that they can only see their own. Larissa explains that their Death takes them to the boatman when it's time. Lyra understands that's where she needs to go.

Larissa says she won't be able to get there without her Death. Lyra asks where it is. They don't know. Larissa suggests they invite their Deaths to them in kindness and friendship, and they will come.

In the morning, Mrs. Coulter is dressed in her old clothes. Father Jerome brings her breakfast, but she wants to go to the chapel as she must pray (nodding to Roke).

Jerome follows her, saying she should stay in her room and she can pray there. As they arrive, Jerome tells her if she wishes to go to the chapel, she must go at the allotted time. Mrs. Coulter says she'll just go in while she's here. 

Mrs. Coulter opens the door and sees many men praying together. Jerome tells her if she won't, he'll get support. Mrs. Coulter tells him to get it then.

The golden monkey indicates the room they should go in. Mrs. Coulter enters a lab and recognizes Dr. Cooper, greeting her amiably, surprised she's still alive. She asks what Dr. Cooper is working on. Dr. Cooper says it is restricted.

Mrs. Coulter convinces Dr. Cooper that she is working closely with MacPhail. Mrs. Coulter guesses it is a resonating chamber and resembles the daemon guillotine. She guesses Dr. Cooper is building a directional bomb.

Father Gomez and the guards arrive, restraining and taking away Mrs. Coulter.

In holding area 255, Lyra wants to read the alethiometer to figure out how to summon her Death. Will is unsure and wants to go back. Pan sides with Will. Lyra wants to make things right with Roger.

Lyra's Death shows up, but only Lyra and Pan can see her. Lyra and Her Death walk away together, and Lyra tells Will she will be back. Pan goes after Lyra.

MacPhail prays again, thanking the Authority for giving him the means to win the war.

Father Gomez approaches Mrs. Coulter in her sleep with a knife and cuts the locket from her neck. Mrs. Coulter asks Roke to follow him.

Dr. Cooper takes apart the locket containing a lock of Lyra's hair, which Dr. Cooper says should be "ample." MacPhail asks how long until it is ready -- Dr. Cooper says a few days. MacPhail dismisses Gomez, and Roke sneaks in. Dr. Cooper assures MacPhail that with the hair in it, the bomb will be able to find Lyra, no matter what world she is in.

Lyra (with Pan) and her Death sit in an empty room together. Her Death says she knows Lyra better than anyone, but Pan disagrees.

Lyra asks to make a deal -- she must go to the land of the dead and get back. Her Death says that one day she will be able to go without all the extra effort. Lyra says she and Will need to speak to people who have died.

Lyra's Death says this is true of many people -- why should they be different? Lyra asks if she saw Roger die, and her Death confirms it.

Lyra says she doesn't want to be exceptional, just good, and wants to be there for Roger in a way she wasn't before. She asks for her Death's help. Her Death says she will show her the way in but cannot go with her or help get her out.

Dr. Mary sleeps under a tree. There is food and drink before her. She wakes to see a strange creature approaching her. It speaks to her in another language.

Dr. Mary drinks the water and eats the berries. The animal walks away. Dr. Mary calls after the beast, takes the berries, and follows, leaving behind her scarf.

Lyra returns to Will. He asks if her Death can see his Death, but her Death says no, only when it's time, and Lyra conveys this to Will. She says her Death will take them to the water. Death leads, and they follow.

Dr. Cooper drinks whiskey alone and picks up the clipping of Lyra's hair. Roke stings her, rendering her unconscious.

Roke returns the lock of hair to Mrs. Coulter. Mrs. Coulter laments that she was arrogant.

Roke says they should return to Asriel and that he will intervene once he knows what is going on. Mrs. Coulter is doubtful. She burns the lock of hair in the flame of her candle. She wants to kill them before they find another way.

Roke insists they get back, but Mrs. Coulter is resolute.

Will and Lyra follow Lyra's Death down a corridor. Will assures Lyra she can still back out, and she says so can he. She says even if she doesn't come back, she will have died doing something important.

Mrs. Coulter and Roke sneak out, then run when the guards and Fathers spot her. The alarms ring. She is surrounded. MacPhail admits that he will kill Lyra no matter what she does.

Mrs. Coulter declares that she would like to stand trial for the murder of Cardinal Sturrock, which she conspired to do with MacPhail. MacPhail calls her a liar and a wanton woman with an illegitimate child who is sin itself She calls him Hugh, and he orders her to call him Father President.

Mrs. Coulter rails at him, accusing him of wanting power, and urges Father Gomez and the others to consider this man's sins. MacPhail has the guards take her away ad silence her, though she fights the entire time.

MacPhail tells her they still have some hair in the locket. They will sever her from her golden monkey daemon, and she will be the bullet to kill Lyra.

They take Mrs. Coulter to the cellars, separating her from the daemon, who is now locked up in a cage before MacPhail.

Lyra's Death leads Will, Lyra, and Pan to the boatman. She leaves. The boatman greets them, telling them to leave all their belongings and that Pan can not come. Lyra protests, saying if they separate, she dies, and the boatman asks her if that's what she wants.

Will says it's unfair since he doesn't have to leave any part of himself behind. The boatman tells him he does, but he can't see it. Lyra tries to get Pan on the boat, but Pan runs off. The boatman insists it's not a rule he can break, and no one has ever returned.

Will threatens him with the knife, but the boatman isn't frightened.

Lyra insists to Pan that she has to do right by Roger, and he tells her she is choosing Roger over him. She promises she'll come back to find him and that she loves him. He tells her to go.

Lyra and Will get on the boat, and it leaves the jetty. Pan whines from the jetty. Lyra screams, feeling the pain in her heart. Will sits beside her and comforts her.