The novel starts with the narrator, an old woman who claims that she must speak against the Gods. She is an old woman and she no longer cares if something happens to her as a result. Then the narrator presents herself as being Oural, the daughter of the King that rules over Glome. Oural is hated by the god of the Grey Mountain but she does not reveal why.
Oural thinks back in time, when her mother died. As it was the custom, both her hair and her sister’s hair were cut off. The servants talked about how it was a shame that Redival’s hair was cut but they said nothing about Oural. Their nurse, Batta, also warns them that should their father marry again, their lives will be very difficult. The King prepares Oural to take his place until he will have a son and claims that Oural will never be able to do anything else because of her physical appearance. Oural names the slave the Fox and the two become close quickly. Fox tells Oural about the Greek Gods and Goddesses and Oural reaches the conclusion that they are not that different from the Gods of her people.
The Fox like Oural better because she is more eager to learn and when the King comes one day telling them that there will be soon a prince to teach, Oural feels saddened. The King is to be engaged and preparations soon start. The girls are taught a Greek hymn before the wedding and are told that they must wear veils to hide their faces.
During the wedding, Orual thinks about the stories she has heard about step-mothers but she quickly realizes that the new Queen is far from being vicious and she is in fact scared. The new Queen becomes pregnant in a short time but dies during childbirth. The King becomes angry with the Fox and plans to send him away but Orual tries to convince him to run away.
Orual finds that the baby lived and that the Fox will be let to stay in the palace and be used as an advisor by the King. The baby is named Istra and Orual sees just how beautiful the newborn is. Orual raises Istra whom he also calls Psyche and they become also close to the Fox. Orual’s happiness ends when her father orders her to take care of her older sister who was caught kissing a guard
The next year is hard for the King as he fails to remarry and because the crops in his kingdom all die. Then some noblemen rebel against the King and a plague affects the Kingdom. Orual is forced to take the Fox’s place but she finds the job rewarding and it gives her a new purpose. Psyche takes care of the Fox and when word gets out that the Fox was cured, people began to show up, thinking that Psyche had magic abilities. The people began to worship her and even claimed that she was the Goddess Ungit. Psyche falls ill as well but she recovers quickly and people leave offerings to her which enrages Redival because she is no longer considered as being the most beautiful sister. As a result, she becomes devoted to Ungit and spends her time at the temple, serving the Goddess and praying for a husband.
Things have gotten worst in the town and even the palace almost ran out of food. The people who once worship Psyche turned against her and ended blaming her for the fever that only spread even more. The people become hostile towards Psyche and she is unable to understand what she did wrong. In the end, the illness in the town disappears and the Priest from the temple of Ungit comes to the palace. The priest claims that the Goddess is angry and that a sacrifice must be made in order to please her. The King offers to give him the next thief he catches but the priest claims that a sacrifice must be made immediately. He also tells the King that the person who is to be sacrificed lives in the palace and the King sends for the captain of his guards and orders to kill the priest but the man refuses, claiming that he can do nothing to enrage the Gods. When the priest reveals that the person who is to be sacrificed is Psyche, the King relaxes and begins to plan ways to keep Psyche a prisoner until the day of the sacrifice. Orual tries to convince the King not to sacrifice Psyche but is unable to as he claims it is a necessity. The Fox tries to convince the King to do everything he can to save Psyche but the King is more interested in his own safety to do anything for his daughter. Orual offers herself in Psyche’s place but the King claims that something like that could never be done because the Goddess asks for the best and she is not the best.
Orual blames her sister Redival for what happened and Orual thinks that because Redival talked about Psyche at the temple, the priest found about her. Orual is not allowed to enter in the room where Psyche is held but after attacking Bardia with a sword, she is praised for her courage and let inside. Instead of being hateful and resentful, Psyche is calm and collected and urges Orual to not hate their father and sister. Psyche admits that she is afraid but she tries not to think about will happen to her and instead trust the Gods. She also claims that she never felt comfortable in the palace and that she felt as if the mountain was calling for her. This was thus the answer to her prayers and instead of being scared, she looks forward to meeting the God and be sacrificed.
Orual decides that she will save her sister and she plans to do just so by going with her up the mountain and killing the beast. The next morning, Orual is awoken and told that the king had forbid her from watching the sacrifice. Orual lays in bed for days, delirious and in pain and when she wakes up the Fox is beside her. He is the one who tells Orual that the plagues ended and that the King is once more beloved by his people. After Orual recovers, she decides to go up the mountain and look for any remains of her sister that can be buried or burnt and the Fox urges her to do it quickly before winter comes.
Orual begins training with Bardia who offers to take her up the mountain to look for her sister. When the two leave the palace, Orual is thrilled to see what lies behind the walls she saw all her life. They find no remains near the tree where Psyche was left and Orual insists that they must continue looking for her sister. They go down the mountain on the other side and once they reach a stream, Orual sees her sister and the two begin talking. Psyche claims that the God came and took her and that she has been living in his palace. When Orual asks where the palace is, Psyche claims they are near the front gate but Orual is unable to see it. This causes tension between the two sisters and Orual thinks that her sister is losing her mind and that it is up to her to save her. Orual then decides to go along with her sister’s games and insists that she shows the palace where she has been living for the past months. When it starts to rain, Orual tries to convince her sister to come under her cloak but she refuses claiming that she won’t be affected since she is inside the palace. Orual tries to wrestle with her sister but Psyche is stronger and she is unwilling to return to the palace.
When the sun sets, Orual leaves but promises to return as soon as possible. Orual and Bardia camp near the river that night but Orual is unable to get any sleep. In the morning, she wakes up and goes to the river to drink some water. It is then when she sees an imposing palace on the other side of the river. The palace however disappears into the mist and Orual keeps the palace a secret.
Orual and Bardia begin their journey back home and on the road they talk about the palace and wheatear it is real or not. Bardia also suggests that the creature holding Psyche is the Brute and Orual decides that she must save her sister from the brute even if that would imply killing the brute.
Once in the palace, Orual recalls everything that happened to the Fox and he is sure that Psyche is mad and that some criminal on the mountain takes care of her. The Fox and Orual decide that they must act fast and save Psyche and the best time to do it was then because the King was going to leave for a few days to hunt lions in the mountain. The Fox points out that it will be hard to convince Psyche to leave and that they cannot hide her in the city because she will be found again and sacrificed once more. Orual tells the Fox that she will kill her sister but the Fox tries to convince her that killing her sister is not the way she should go. After the Fox leaves, Orual thinks that maybe she should let Psyche remain with her husband if she is happy but then remembered that her husband forbade her from seeing his face so Orual reached the conclusion that a man who behaves in such a way cannot be a good person.
After the King leaves, Orual prepares to leave as well and calls for Bardia. Bardia tells Orual that he can’t accompany her because he was put in charge of guarding the palace. What he does however is send another guard named Gram with her. Orual asks for a dagger and Bardia gives her one even though he is unsure what she will do with it.
When Orual meets with Psyche, she tells her that she must look at her husband’s face even though he forbade it. Orual threatens Psyche with death if she does not do it and even shows her the dagger Bardia gave her. After much persuasion, Psyche agrees to do as her sister told her but not because he wants to obey Orual but because she is sure the God will be kind to her. Psyche swears on her sister’s dagger that she will do as she is told before leaving and siting on the other side of the river.
When the night comes, Orual sees lights flashing and then hears an unearthly voice screaming at Pshyche. When Orual gets ready to cross the river, she sees a man in front of her, a man more beautiful than every man she ever saw in her life. The God tells Orual that Pshyche will have to remain in exile for the rest of her days and that she will be punished as well. On the way home, Orual thinks about her sister and about the possible punishment she will have to suffer as well as a result.
When Orual returns, she talks with the Fox and tells him what happened. Also then, Orual decides that she will wear a veil for the rest of her life, hiding her face from the rest of the world. Orual’s attitude changes as well and she stops being an obedient child who listens to every word said by the King. Instead, she decides to go her own way and be more independent.
That winter, the King slips on ice and breaks his legs and the doctors in the palace theorize that the King will die in less than three days. The priest is also sick and will probably die soon and many people asked themselves who will take the power in the state. The new priest will probably be a man named Arnom and he claims that the state and the temple must work together to make sure the country will prosper. He also calls Orual Queen and everyone around her begins to call her that. Almost immediately, Orual begins to take various decisions that will influence her people and she is praised for her decisions.
One day, Orual discovers a man near the wheel and he tells her that his name is Trunia of Phars and that he is at war with his brother and needs protection. Orual decides to take him as a prisoner, knowing that if she were to take him under her protection, the King of Phars could attack her kingdom and she lacked the power to defend it. A few moments later, the Fox tells Orual that the king of Phars is looking for his brother and the two begin to think of ways to get into the king’s good graces. Orual proposes that they suggest single combat for Trunia’s life and they theorize that the King will accept it just to avoid being sees as a coward by his people. Oural decides that she must be the one to fight with the King even though the Fox and Bardia disagree with the idea.
The next morning, Orual finds that the priest died and Arnom became priest in his place. To prepare for the battle, Orual kills a pig and promises that if she will win, she and her advisors will eat the pig for dinner. Orual releases the Fox from slavery but he decides to stay with her.
The next day, the fight takes place and people from different Kingdoms gathered to see it happen. Trunia offers to marry Orual but she refuses and tells him that he can marry Redival if he wants to. The king dies in that same morning but almost no one notices the event as they are more concerned with Orual and the fight.
Orual fights after wounding the king and Trunia is declared King by many of the people in the audience. Then, Orual hosts a great banquet for everyone present and contemplates the fact that she likes being a queen.
Time passes and Orual becomes a beloved Queen. She continues to hide her face and many speculate that the reason she hides herself is because she is too beautiful and anyone who were to see her would be smitten by her beauty. The Queen released numerous slaves and began mining so her kingdom prospered. The Fox soon grew old and he could no longer be used by the Queen as before. When the Fox dies, the Queen decides to go room the world and visit the places she always wanted to see.
The Queen goes first to Phars where she sees once more her sister who changed drastically since she got married. Then they go to Essur where they stay a few days before going and visiting a few springs in the forest. While there, the Queen hears bells and she follows the sound until she reaches a Greek temple. There, he hears the story of Psyche and sees a statue of a veiled woman. The priest claims that the woman must complete a series of hard tasks before she can become a goddess herself and it is then when the face will be unveiled.
The Queen then returns home, angry at the gods and writes the book that was told until that point. She claims that the Gods are unfair and they do not offer the guidance mortals need. With this, Orual finishes the first part of the book.
Orual begins her second book by telling the reader that she is old and will die soon. Because of this, she can’t rewrite the book but she can add to it. A former guard came to Orual, a man named Tarin and he made Orual think about the suffering she caused to her older sister. Then, a few days later, Bardia dies and his wife blames the Queen for forcing him to work too much. The two talk for a long time and they both realizes that they loved Bardia.
The New Year comes and the Queen must participate in a ritual that takes place at the temple of Ungit. That night, Orual dreams that her father came to her, took her in a room below the throne room and there he makes her look into a mirror and realize that she transformed into Ungit, the being she despised the most. The Queen then wakes up but she continues to have prophetic dreams until she can no longer take it and decide that she must kill herself. She is however too old and is unable to raise the sword to kill herself. She then decides that she must throw herself into the river but she is stopped by a God who tells her to go home and forget about wanting to end her life.
In one of her visions, Orual is taken to a mountain where the Gods live and she is told to read her complaint. She reads from a book which she was carrying and when she is done she feels relieved. Then, she sees the Fox in the crowd and she goes to speak with him and ask for forgiveness for making him stay with her. Next, she meets with Pshyche who fulfilled the last task given to her and then she meets a God who judges her.
Orual wakes up and lives for a few more days. In her last days, she continues to write in her book and she is mourned by those around her.
The novel ends with a few words from the Priest Arnom who tells the one who found the book to take it to Greece, as Oural would have wished to happen.
