Born the heir to viscountcy, raised to be an anarchist, exiled as a revolutionary, and rehabilitated as a great playwright and radical politician, Gabriel de Rougemont had already gone through enough for three lives, before he was accused of planting a bomb inside a building. Forced to flee France for the second time in his lifetime, he begins his second exile to England with fewer prospects, less money and family support. Sharp and impulsive, yet well-read and well-spoken, Gabriel has a talent both for getting into messes and escaping their consequences. Or had, for his luck might have just run out.
Sterling Kildare
With a given name as aspirational as “Sterling,” maybe it is no surprise that Kildare clawed his way from his working-class childhood into editor’s chair of a known, if struggling, London weekly. He navigates the Review with a keen mind and sharp eye, and is ruthless about what belongs in the paper and what doesn’t. The owner has insisted upon only truthful reporting, but Sterling knows, too, that the truth isn’t always what sells papers.
Julian Graves
Obsession rules in Julian Graves’s life. He thrives on it. He molds his life around it, and when he is without a fixation, he struggles through the constant companion of an aimless inner turmoil.
Treat him well and he will adore you. Treat him badly, bully, tease, or humiliate him, and he will love you, a little too much.
Giovanni de Mura
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.
Lucien King
Lucien, known as Lux among his peers, embodies a captivating blend of charm and recklessness. His ambition drives him to pursue his desires with fervor, yet he often struggles to maintain his composure, teetering on the edge of impulsivity and emotional outbursts. Despite this volatility, he possesses an undeniable talent for captivating a crowd, his silver tongue effortlessly weaving words that could sway even the coldest individuals to his favor. Lux knows how to command attention and inspire loyalty, even as he navigates the tumultuous waters of his own emotions as a young gentleman. The type to know a man, that knows a man, and so on- his connections vary far and wide, from the dirty slums of the east end, to the grand luxury of the upper-class.
Lucien King, playfully referred to as “Lucy” among his siblings, embodies a complex duality. While he is adored in high society for his charm, he grapples with feelings of inadequacy as he constantly finds himself compared to his accomplished eldest brother. The recent passing of their father has intensified his need to prove himself, fueling a quiet frustration that gnaws at him. At the forefront of his aspirations stands The Silver Bullet, a prestigious bar and club he opened just over a year ago in the vibrant east end, even as his father’s health declined. Lucien is fiercely determined to make this establishment thrive, attracting a diverse and eclectic clientele that reflects his vision. However, the challenges of managing such a venture weigh heavily on him, and he is acutely aware that maintaining its success amidst potential troubles is a precarious balancing act.
Barty Redd
Barty Redd, a lawful neutral man, lives by his own set of laws that often diverge from the law he is sworn to enforce. He is a corrupt cop if ever there was one, out to make his way in the world. He frequents the pub life by night and gets into trouble by day. Those who know him would say he is a bit of a hot head with a short temper, but he means well. Always looking to meet new acquaintances…
Lord Oscar FitzMaurice
The epitome of a carefree socialite, Oscar enjoys the easy life of a self-proclaimed artist and poet among London’s ton. Born into wealth as the eldest son of an earl, he has long been a fixture in the city’s social circles, where his lack of obligations affords him the freedom to pursue his passions as he sees fit. Always on the lookout for his next intriguing diversion, he has long embraced his image as an entertaining dilettante—not least because it distracts from his more pragmatic existence as the secretive owner of an exclusive male brothel known as Maggie’s Place.
Guillermo Fontana Losa
Guillermo is the son of a famed privateer. He is known for his violence. Known for his part in wars and rebellions, and for following in his father’s violent footsteps. His heart, however, is and has always been with the animals he saves.
Nyle Reid
Duke Nyle Reid’s life has been held deep within a fog for a long time; a product of compliance, of distance from his nature as a man, and a repression that buries him within the cold frontier. The premier face of English Lordship, he wears a distant smile in the common eye, but struggles to command the love and loyalty of others. Nyle’s life has long been a tapestry of formless despair, an obligation to duty, and a void of companionship. Perhaps, along the Thames, that will change.
Pavel Voronin
Embodying a gay man’s mid-life crisis in more ways than one, Pavel has followed his singer lover to London after *allegedly* stabbing a man in defence of said lover, leaving his family in shock, horror and scandal, losing his job and even the man who caused all of the mayhem. Single and practically exiled, he now needs to start from scratch as a middle-aged man.