Synstavle is the story of Silje, who started studying medicine but who now works in a café instead. Her father owns and manages an optometry practice he wants Silje to take over.

The story begins when her father dies and Silje and her boyfriend go home for the funeral. This is when Silje eventually discovers the twist in the story.

Her father had a sister, Silje's aunt, who was a doctor and who is deceased. What Silje doesn't know is that she took her own life after mismanaging a patient. Her father's motive for not wanting Silje to become a doctor begins to appear in another light.

This is a well written, complex and thought-provoking novel.