Jim Taylor, Sally Lockhart's oldest friend, is engaged as bodyguard to a princess.

But Crown Princess Adelaide of Razkavia is not what you'd expect.

She's the slum-girl Jim has been searching for ever since she vanished ten years ago.

Now her life is in mortal danger, and together they must battle against unknown enemies in a country where no one can be trusted.

This dramatic story of love, loyalty and adventure is the final novel in the quartet.

Philip Pullman's ever-popular, action-packed Victorian melodramas are rejacketed for the bicentenary of Charles Dickens in 2012.