Captivated by the lovely Esther (Louise Lombard), King Ahasuerus of Persia (Thomas Kretschmann) makes her his queen, unaware that she's Jewish. But when Prime Minister Haman (Jürgen Prochnow) orders a day of assault on the Jews, Esther reveals her heritage to the king and implores him to help her people. F. Murray Abraham co-stars as Mordecai, Esther's proud cousin, in this faithful retelling of the biblical story.