Rebecca Plummer is a healer, midwife, and caregiver to women whose strength has been diminished by childbearing, near starvation, and abuse. In 1812, when the United States invades Canada, Rebecca’s dedication to healing is put to the test. Told from multiple perspectives, the listener is given interwoven views of the war, and contrasting perceptions about Rebecca and her life. Based on real people and historical events, this fictionalized account is told from the Canadian perspective and presents a rarely seen view of life in war-torn, rural Canada.

Mirrors & Smoke captivates from the start and delivers a moving tale of perseverance in the face of tragedy. Adrienne Stevenson presents us with an oh so realistic, yet fictionalised, account of those turbulent times from the perspective of a woman living in Niagara in Upper Canada.

With more enemies than friends, Rebecca navigates the anti-feminist repression of the time with intelligence, determination and a capacity for hard work. The chaos brought by the US invasion in 1812 multiplies her problems. Her skills must turn from saving the lives of injured soldiers to saving her own family as the turmoil causes both friend and foe to reveal their true nature.

Stevenson brings a light and poetic touch to this important subject matter without hitting listeners over the head with the underlying serious theme. This book about the war of 1812 reveals the wider effect on the people of the time and how a woman might achieve her goals against her political adversaries and the agonies of war raging, albeit slowly, around her.