"Esther" is gripping historic fiction, a complex and exciting family saga, and a high-suspense detective novel. It follows a young man's quest to find his grandfather, a man he has never known, and who abandoned the family and disappeared from the world early in the Second World War, without leaving a trace. This first novel by author Nir Barkin delves into the history of Israel, spanning from the late nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century. The story covers four generations of a family, revealing the adventures and struggles of daily life during the British Mandate and after the founding of the State of Israel. The heart of the adventure takes place in Jerusalem. While the family's journey includes the Galilee and even Italy and the United States, their origin is in the traditional neighborhoods of Sephardi Jews in central Jerusalem, and over time they continually return to the Holy City. "Esther" weaves a sensitive, touching and complex tale of love, betrayal, rupture, desertion, pain, and the stubborn determination to retain sanity. A young man overcomes seemingly insurmountable obstacles to painstakingly unravel the knots of the past, determined to discover the family secrets and taboos that cast a shadow over their lives.