Hoping to place Esther with an appropriate family, Dr. Larch met with a rabbi and two members of a nearby town’s Jewish community shortly after Esther’s arrival at St. Cloud’s. However, the men had wanted to know Esther’s “documentation,” frustrating Dr. Larch. Attempts to place Esther failed, and she soon grew into an older child, and then a teenager, making her all the more “unadoptable” (56). The history of the Jewish people was of great interest to Esther, but she had decided that she didn’t believe in God. When Dr. Larch tells the Winslows of Esther’s atheism, Thomas shouts in approval. Dr. Larch tells Thomas that he too is a skeptic, though the nurses reproach him for his perceived cynicism.

Dr. Larch digresses into the story of the Book of Esther. He tells the Winslows that along with the Song of Songs, Esther is the only book from the Bible that does not mention God. In the Bible, Esther marries King Ahausereus (a version of the Persian Xeres), only revealing her Jewish heritage after she is crowned queen and learns that Haman, the antagonistic prime minister, is planning to kill the Jewish people of Ahausereus’s realm. After Ahasuerus decreed that Haman be killed instead, the Jewish people celebrated the festival of Purim.

At St. Cloud’s, Dr. Larch would often recount the story of Purim. While the other children loved the tale, Esther wept when she heard it, since it only reminded her of the fact that she had no one around to teach her Jewish traditions. The nurses tell the Winslows that Esther plans to go to Jerusalem to learn about her heritage when she is an adult.

The topic turns to Esther’s parentage. Dr. Larch’s research shows that Esther’s parents—Hanna Meyer and Simon Nacht—were European. When Esther was an infant, the couple set sail for Portland in the US. Simon died of a bacterial infection during the journey. In Portland, Hanna tried to make ends meet by teaching English as a second language to German immigrants, but she struggled to balance work with childcare. She also discovered that people in Portland harbored antisemitic attitudes much like in her native Germany. Additionally, she carried the stigma of being an immigrant.

Some people suggested to Hanna that she engage in sex work to support herself. It is unclear if Hanna did so, but she was bludgeoned to death in a boardinghouse. The babysitters Hanna had employed to watch Esther while she worked brought the little girl to St. Cloud’s.

Esther takes a long time to say goodbye to the boys and girls of St. Cloud’s. Dr. Larch tells the Winslows that she has read their case and approves of them. Meanwhile, the Winslows must be prepared for something Esther keenly wants: Not too long ago, Esther took Dr. Larch to a tattooist to plan a tattoo for herself. The tattoo is a quote from Jane Eyre which begins with the words “I care for myself” and ends with “respect myself” (73), and it is to cover Esther’s torso from the neck to the belly, though the tattoo artist will work around her breasts.

Dr. Larch also tells the Winslows that Esther does not like wearing a bra, as she finds it confining. Thomas does not respond to the statement but can see Constance and the nurses give a disapproving look. When Esther finally appears in the doorway to Dr. Larch’s office, Thomas and Constance can see that the St. Cloud’s staff had not been exaggerating her stature. Esther is unusually tall, strong, and self-possessed for her age. She thanks the Winslows profusely for taking her in and gives the nurses and Dr. Larch hugs. After the tearful goodbye, she heads to the station with her new family, an arm each around Thomas and Constance, as if steadying them.

At the station, the stationmaster looks at Esther in distaste and tells the Winslows he is surprised they’re taking “the Jewish one” (77). Constance counters they are taking “the best one” (77). On the train, Esther sleeps in her berth, muttering the lines from Jane Eyre.

The narrative moves ahead 15 years to 1934. Esther is now nearly 30 years old, and the oldest Winslow daughters, Hope and Faith, have children of their own. Prudence, the third daughter, is applying to medical school. Esther, who studied nursing at Wellesley, plans to go to Vienna first, and then Jerusalem. Over the years, Esther has often travelled overseas, such as during her stint as a nurse with the US Army, but has always returned to be with her charge, Honor. Esther and Honor are extremely close, with Honor telling Constance they have “a pact” (80).

Daniel Rosenthal, of the English department, and his wife Naomi, have been a foster Jewish family for Esther since Esther moved to Pennacook. It was Naomi who helped Esther connect with Bluma Drucker, a Viennese-born teacher of German. Meanwhile, the Winslows are glad that Esther doesn’t have her tattoo yet, since tattooed people cannot be buried in the Jewish cemetery of Pennacook (Naomi later busts this myth).

Thomas and Constance worry about Esther’s plans to go to Germany at a time many Jewish people are leaving the country: World War II is imminent. They are also concerned that the Rosenthals are unenthusiastic about Esther’s plans to move to Palestine. Wary of Zionism, the Rosenthals question the idea that every member of the Jewish diaspora must “make aliyah” (88), or return to the Land of Israel. The Druckers, on the other hand, support Zionism; Daniel believes it is because they are recent immigrants, unlike the Rosenthals, who are well-integrated in America since the 19th century.

As the Winslows fret over Esther’s safety during her travels, Honor assures them that Esther will be fine and reveals the nature of their pact. Esther is bound to return, pregnant, because she has vowed to have a baby for Honor. This baby, the narrator reveals, will be none other than Jimmy, who was introduced in the first chapter.

Faith, Hope, and Prudence already know of Honor’s pact with Esther and explain it to their parents. Honor wants to be a mother, but “doesn’t want a penis poking around in her vagina” (93). The word “vagina” throws off Thomas, who despite being the father of four daughters, has hardly heard it spoken aloud. However, he is okay with the idea of Honor’s child having two mothers. Constance worries whether Honor will be accepted at her alma mater, the all-girls’ prep school Abbot Academy, if the school learns of her two-moms idea.

Hope reassures her parents that Honor and Esther do not plan to have a baby just yet. The plan is for the baby to be born in 1941, a year that will ensure Esther is not too old, and Honor has finished nursing school. Honor wants to specialize in obstetric nursing and work at an all-women’s hospital. When Constance wonders whether Hope’s desire for an exclusively female environment means she “liked” women (96), Faith replies that Honor “doesn’t like men or women. She’s asexual” (96).

Faith and her sisters discuss the qualities Esther and Honor would like in the unknown father of their baby. The sisters insist a petite man would be a great father—subconsciously recalling Thomas. Unaware that the man they are describing resembles him, Thomas bursts out that Esther and Honor want “a short guy who’s a dogged plodder” (98), much to the amusement of his daughters. The family also considers the prospect of the child being a boy. Thomas would want to name the child Jimmy, short for James. Meanwhile, Honor tells the family that Esther does not want her child to be raised Jewish, but he or she “better stand up for Jews” (99).

The Druckers help Esther find work with Bernard and Joanna Morgenstern—two outlawed social democrats—in Vienna, as they help Jewish people and socialists in exile in Czechoslovakia. Esther often travels between Vienna and Brno as a messenger between the Morgensterns and the exiles, but her Ashkenazi-Jewish surname “Nacht” eventually invites suspicion at the border. Back in Vienna, Esther begins to suspect she may be being watched by the Austrian authorities. She wonders if it is time to head to Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Esther meets Moshe Kleinberg (His first and last name meaning “Moses” and “Little Mountain,” respectively, in English), a featherweight wrestling champion who has been unfairly scored in competitions. As the Nazis cannot stand the idea of a Jewish-origin wrestler beating “Aryans” at Greco-Roman wrestling, Moshe has attracted the wrong kind of attention, and the Morgensterns arrange for him to move to Israel, accompanied by Esther.

Moshe settles in Haifa, where his team of Jewish wrestlers gain access to a sports hall. They quickly organize a competitive team. By 1938, Haifa’s Jewish population grows to 48,000 (the Muslims and Christians number 51,000). When Esther writes home, she talks more about Moshe than herself, frustrating Thomas, who worries about Esther. Honor tells Thomas not to worry, as Esther plans to get pregnant with Moshe’s help, “Little Mountain” having promised to impregnate Esther whenever she wants.