Antinous is destined to die. Envied by the gods and despised by his rivals, the Greek youth from Bithynia is the most beautiful boy in the Roman Empire, summoned to the Eternal City where the emperor, Hadrian, makes him his lover. Just when Antinous thinks he has outrun destiny, he meets Leonides, a bold young soldier who conquers his heart. He desires the soldier but belongs to the emperor. If he gives in to temptation it may cost them their lives. His rivals are always talking and the gods always watching.

Emmanuel, Duke of Thornton, is handsome, wealthy, and most of all, unmarried. Nicknamed the Duke of Camellias by his admirers, he seems to have the world in his hand, but harbors a secret nobody knows. Blair Millais, on the other hand, has lost it all. His sister passed away and the short stories he publishes hardly earn enough for him to live on. When Emmanuel Waterhouse invites him over to be the writer of his very own biography with a superfluous salary, it seems too good to be true. Yet soon Blair realizes how society looks upon gay men in Victorian England, and a betrayal which has made Emmanuel unable to love anymore. So when he learns who exactly the Duke of Camellias is, and the reason behind the sadness in his eyes, can he ignore the impending fate that awaits him? TRIGGER WARNINGS: child abuse, assault, rape