Only his widow lives there now, grudgingly looked after by a self-serving couple, still complying with the rigid patterns laid down by Charles and his mother. But after her husband's death Madeleine begins to break free from his lingering domination. When her two grown-up children return, each seeking her help, Madeleine discovers in her new independence the ability to offer them the love she has never been able to express before.

    Esther, a shy orphan Jewish girl who is chosen to become the queen of Persia, risks the wrath of the king to save her people from destruction, and her courage and wisdom are now celebrated in the Jewish feast of Purim.

    The book includes many of their teachings in their own words, with special emphasis on the women of India, who teach the sublime nondual Vedanta philosophy -- one of the greatest philosophical achievements in the history of human thought. The stories of these spiritual champions of the highest order will excite the reader with the possibility of his or her own direct God-Realization, the fullness of Divine Love, Bliss, Peace, Freedom, and Power.

    Through memory, the protagonist re-examines her unresolved obsessive love for a young woman, her best friend since childhood.