Sabriel has spent most of her young life far away from the magical realm of the Old Kingdom, and the Dead that roam it. But then a creature from across the Wall arrives at her all-girls boarding school with a message from her father, the Abhorsen - the magical protector of the realm whose task it is to bind and send back to Death those that won't stay Dead.

Sabriel's father has been trapped in Death by a dangerous Free Magic creature. Armed with her father's binding-bells and sword, she finds companions in Mogget, an ancient spirit bound into the body of a cat, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage whom Sabriel frees from a long, magical imprisonment.

As the three travel deep into the Old Kingdom, threats mount on all sides. And every step brings them closer to a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death - and bring Sabriel face-to-face with her own destiny.