(1) Lirael lives in a mountain of ice with the Clayr, a sisterhood of women who can see into the future. However, Lirael is unhappy because she has already turned 18, but still cannot see the future like the others. She takes a job working in the library of the Clayr, a place with many rooms and many secrets.
(2) Deep in the library, Lirael sees a mysterious locked door. She wants very much to know what is behind the door, and realizes she knows how to open it using magic.
(3) But Lirael feels frightened that she will get into trouble if she opens the door, so she doesn’t do it.
(4) On her 19th birthday, an old woman – the head librarian of the Clayr – talks to Lirael. She tells her that some Clayr sisters are not born to see the future, but to find the secrets of the past.
(5) Then one night, the other Clayr are called to a meeting to look into the future, leaving Lirael alone in the library. She takes her chance to open the door and pass through.
(6) Behind the door, Lirael meets a terrible monster called the Stilken which has broken free from its magical cage. She must fight to escape it.
(6) Also behind the door, Lirael finds a small statue of a dog which holds a dog spirit. The dog spirit becomes her best friend.
(6) Lirael realizes that a great force of evil has escaped from Death into Life, which is why the Stilken and other monsters are escaping from their magical prisons inside the library.
(7) Lirael decides to go to the deepest level of the library to try to understand the truth.
(8) Lirael must face great danger, fighting cleverly and using all her understanding of magic, to reach a secret room deep under the mountain.
(9) In the secret room, Lirael finds magic pipes, a magic mirror, and a book that will teach her how to use them to see into the past.
(10) After looking into the past, Lirael realizes that her whole land is in danger, and she must go outside the mountain to meet her future and save her home.
(11) After many adventures, she finds a way to stop the evil that is destroying her land… but to do it, she must lose the one thing she loves most.
(12) By doing this, Lirael saves her world and finds a new future for herself.