The subject, an orphaned Jewish girl raised by her cousin Mordecai, was taken into the harem of King Ahasuerus and, finding favor, was crowned queen of Persia. Her people and lineage remained concealed.

Haman, elevated above the princes, plotted the destruction of all the Jews after Mordecai refused to bow, and secured a royal decree sealed with the king's ring, fixing a day for their annihilation.

Mordecai charged the subject to plead for her people, saying she had perhaps come to the kingdom for such a time as this. She called for a fast and resolved to approach the king unbidden, saying, If I perish, I perish.

The king received her and granted her request. At two banquets she exposed Haman's plot. The decree could not be revoked, but a counter-decree allowed the Jews to defend themselves, and their enemies fell.

Haman was hanged on the gallows he had built, Mordecai was elevated, and the deliverance was commemorated forever as the feast of Purim. Though God is never named in the record, his providence governs every turn.