A jewel with a curse on it, assassins, opium dens, a homicidal old hag — spunky heroine Sally Lockhart encounters them all in this adaptation of Philip Pullman's Victorian-era thriller.

Scrappy teen Sally Lockhart (Billie Piper, "Doctor Who") has a mind for numbers and for sleuthing. In Phillip Pullman's quartet of novels, she is put through the paces of Victorian melodrama and mystery. In this vivid adaptation of the first book in the quartet, The Ruby in the Smoke , the orphan Sally Lockhart, armed with a pearl-handled pistol and her keen mind, uncovers the secrets of her father's death, discovers hidden cursed jewels and faces England's deadliest villains with bold courage. Sally's friends, the street-smart Jim and the besotted Frederick, help her expose the truth - no matter how dangerous. Sally navigates through the constantly twisting plots with the savvy dexterity of a sharp-eyed detective. Julie Waters (Harry Potter ) plays an old woman bent on Sally's murder.