A Jewish orphan named Esther becomes queen of Persia — and no one at court knows where she comes from. Her cousin Mordecai, who raised her, sits at the king''s gate and watches. When a powerful official named Haman is publicly snubbed by Mordecai, Haman uses his influence with the king to schedule the destruction of every Jew in the empire. This first half of the story is full of crowns, courtyards, and silent danger. Esther has to decide whether to risk her own life by stepping out of hiding. "Who knows," Mordecai tells her, "but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"