The Old Kingdom is a place of free magic, necromancers, and ancient spirits bound to elemental forces. Who will protect the living when the dead rise? Sabriel has spent most of her youthful life away from the magical realm of the Old Kingdom and the Dead surrounding it. However, one day, a creature from the other side of the Wall arrives at her school, carrying a message from her father, Abhorsen - the magical guardian of the realm, whose duty is to bind and send back to Death those who do not want to remain Dead.

Since the Royal Family was destroyed, the Dead have become stronger and more fearless, and now it seems their powers threaten to conquer the Old Kingdom. Sabriel's father is trapped in Death by a dangerous Free Magic creature. He urges her to return to her homeland and discover who or what is behind this uprising.

Armed with her father's bells and her sword, she soon finds companions in Mogget, an ancient spirit bound to the body of a cat, and the Charter Mage Touchstone, a young Harter that Sabriel frees from a long magical imprisonment. As the three of them journey deep into the Old Kingdom, threats rise from all sides. And every step brings them closer to a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death - and will bring Sabriel face to face with her own destiny.