A chilling Gothic tale with a revealing glimpse of the iconic Mrs. Coulter--one of Philip Pullman's most enigmatic characters. This companion story to His Dark Materials is now in print for the first time in a beautiful gift edition. In this darkly delicious tale, internationally acclaimed author Philip Pullman invites readers to meet the mysterious girl who will one day become the sinister Mrs. Coulter. On a cold winter's night, two art collectors are settled before a fire in the senior common room of a college in Oxford, discussing two new unusual pieces--a portrait of a striking young woman and a bronze sculpture of a fearsome monkey. How could they imagine that they are about to be caught in the cross-fire of a story that has traveled across time and worlds. . . .