"Hester: A Story of Contemporary Life, Volume 1 (of 3)" by Mrs. Oliphant is a novel published in 1883. When the Vernon family bank nearly collapses, Catherine Vernon uses her fortune to save it. Decades later, young Hester Vernon returns to Redborough as the daughter of the man who caused the crisis. As Hester navigates family tensions, romantic entanglements, and the weight of her father's disgrace, loyalties shift and Edward, Catherine's favored protégé, grows restless with dangerous consequences for the banking house. (This is an automatically generated summary.)