Antonio is the oldest child and heir to the noble family of Nicastro from the Duchy of Montferrat. However, he was forced into hiding across the English Channel and ended up in the Grand City of London. He works as a physician in dingy hospitals, bars, and wherever he can under the name Nino Donovan—unable to risk being under watchful eyes.
Stubborn as a mule but harmless as a kitten, Tullio ran away to London seeking fame and fortune beyond the constraints of his family and mentor, only to find that was a much more difficult goal than wealthy Englishmen made it seem. A sculptor and painter, Tullio is in desperate need of money if he doesn’t want to be living in a rat-filled tenement house for his entire life. Commissions would be good, and a rich patron would be even better.
Giovanni has always been hungry. Poverty and starvation were his reality for most of his life. Now, with the taste of fame and comfort in London, they are still what fuel him. His main motivation is to never go back to those hungry days. The pursuit of excellence in his craft is obsessive. His desire to cement himself in high society is unshakeable. His love of being loved is insatiable. His ability to balance all these things; questionable.
Enzo has always felt torn between two versions of himself. French and Italian; serious, dutiful son, and fun-loving artistic soul; normal, and deviant. Brought by his mother to London a few years ago, he does his best to portray himself in the way she expects and is proud of. To that end, he got a job as a telegram messenger, biking around the city to deliver telegrams to a wide variety of individuals. It was through that job that he was introduced to Martin Love, the proprietor of Maggie’s Place, who was quick to offer the handsome young man a place at the brothel. Though it is not the kind of work that Enzo ever imagined himself doing, there is a certain freedom to it that keeps him working there in spite of the danger and the distasteful aspects of it.
Of all the children of Ottaviu and Maria Celetti (born Castellano), it was Ippolita who inherited both talent and looks. Quick to rise to fame due to the jump start graciously provided by her parents’ careers, she managed to stay at the top thanks to talent and perseverance alone. Fifteen years later, if there is one thing that Ippolita cannot wrestle, that is the inevitable passage of time and the loathsome thought of her impending replacement, which is precisely why she has amassed a great retirement fund or, as she likes to call it, dowry, though she’d very much rather invest it in a smart business to ensure a comfortable rest of her life.
