She was the Cinderella of the ancient world; a lovely Jewish girl unexpectedly elevated to be the Queen of the Persian Empire. Taken against her will to compete with the other maidens of the land for the hand of the King, Esther is bound by a promise to hide her true identity as a Jew. She soon wins the heart of the mighty King Xerxes, a man so fierce he will invade a nation to avenge an insult. All is well until the dream becomes a nightmare when Esther discovers that she and her people have an appointment with death... Can a simple maiden find happiness with a King who has already divorced one wife for mere disobedience? And in a land where the penalty for lying is death, what might befall a Queen who has not revealed the whole truth about herself? An exciting and dramatic retelling of the story of Esther, L. M. Roth, author of Battleground: Elijah and the War With Jezebel, the Quest For the Kingdom series, and The Princess Who series, brings fresh insight into a tale that never fails to thrill the reader with its web of danger, romance, and royal intrigue.