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Carol Berg keeps her heroine Anne de Vernase and the reader guessing in The Soul Mirror, the sequel to The Spirit Lens. Daughter of the disgraced traitor Michel, Anne testified against her father at his trial and blames him for her family's misfortunes. The king imprisoned her young brother in a notorious prison, and Anne had to plead with her maternal kinsmen to shelter her mad mother. Now her youngest sister lies dead outside the Collegia Seravain slain by her own magic or by some unknown hand.

Distraught, Anne returns home to find a summons from the King to attend the court. Portier de Savin-Duplais, once the Royal Accuser and now head of the Queen's household, demands she leave at once. Uprooted from her home, she pleads for more time, but Duplais hurries her along and accepts no excuses.

At the Queen's court, enemies beset Anne, and she trusts no one. One ducessa, a friend of her mother, warns Anne to take care and learn what she can about her father's origin.

A web of evil surrounds the Queen and threatens Anne. Certain the enemy must be at court, she tries to piece together whatever clues she can. Events force her to use her sister's magic along with her own intelligence to confuse enemies and solve her problems.

Avid readers may find many parallels with Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. A prolific writer, Carol Berg has several other series: the Lighthouse Duet, the Bridge of D'Arnath, and the Rai-Kirah.