Arriving in Bath Spa to accompany his sister Letty in her first experience of polite society, Jacob Longley, Lieutenant in His Majesty’s Royal Navy, is more at home on board the good ship Gloriana. To his surprise, he has a possible suitor of his own in the glamorous Sebastian Fforde. However, beneath a sophisticated surface, Sebastian has his own insecurities. Even after the making the first move, he is not convinced about acting on his feelings. After boldly inviting Jacob to his home in the Cotswolds before his shore leave is over, Sebastian still hesitates. Will either man act on their increasing attraction and growing friendship to make a life-long match together?

As a humble scribe living out a humdrum existence in the City of London in Elizabethan times, Stephen finds his escape across the river amongst the crowds of the teeming theatres where he is transported by the spectacle. But poetry isn’t everything. When a young Welsh actor called Ioan catches his eye, he’s tempted to overcome his shyness and make his acquaintance. Is Stephen out of his depth in this colourful world with its undertones of danger? Or might there be a slim chance that Ioan can return his feelings?

Former British Army Lieutenant Adam Merryweather survived the Western Front of WWI and has slowly recovered from his injuries. But can he heal from a broken heart? Torn between family duty and personal happiness, he sacrificed his love for Alf and has never ceased to regret it in the two years since the war ended. Adam is slowly putting his empty life back together, working for the family firm in the city centre of Bristol and trying to stop his mother’s meddling to find him the perfect socially acceptable bride. When he happens to meet Alf out of the blue, Adam is determined to try again. But convincing Alf to give him another chance may be too much to hope for. Can a chance meeting bring them back together? Or has Adam lost another chance for love forever?

During the summer of 1816, Lord Byron invited the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and his wife-to-be Mary Godwin to spend some months at the Villa Diodati in Switzerland. These poetic rebels were attempting to escape society's disapproval of their radical lifestyles at home in England and to engage in a creative collaboration. Amongst the group was young Dr. John Polidori, Byron’s personal physician. As the creative and sexual tensions within the group simmered over a “wet, ungenial summer,” Mary Shelley had the famous nightmarish vision that inspired her novel, Frankenstein. It is well documented that Polidori was also moved to write The Vampyre. However, in this Gothic story, it his seductive night terrors that spur his creativity. Is this mere fiction, or are his vampiric visions a dark and fated fact?

Joshua Jones is in London to pursue his dream of becoming an artist. As a young black man from a modest background, he works hard to pay for his painting classes, both as a fencing master’s assistant, then as a waiter in an exclusive gaming club, which his uncle manages. During the London Season when the club as at its busiest, the last thing Joshua expects is to find romance. But when mesmerising older man Frank Bartlett is determined to seduce him, how can he resist?

Christopher Holloway lives a comfortable existence in 18th century Bristol as the son of a wealthy merchant. Until, when on a night out with some aristocratic companions, he is set upon by thieves. His friends don’t come to his rescue, but he is led to safety by a stranger, a working-class man of colour, Edmund Lowe. Although now physically safe, Kit’s sense of danger lingers due to his growing feelings for Edmund. Their mutual attraction forces Kit to question his previous values, causing an inner crisis as Halloween draws near. Will Kit submit to the demands of family ties and social advancement? Or can he find the courage to follow his true path and choose Edmund?

Since their mid-teens, Luke has been deeply in love with his childhood friend and neighbour Jem, who spends most of the year at the decadent court of King Charles II in London. In the intervening years at home on Twelvetrees Farm in Oxfordshire, Luke has been occupied by helping his disabled father run their small estate, taking on the burden of work to support his family. Meanwhile, Jem has enjoyed all the worldly pleasures available to him at court. When they are both twenty-one, Jem returns to Westlecot Manor to spend the summer, and Luke’s feelings for him reach boiling point. Luke can no longer cling to the belief he is important to Jem. He is overwhelmed by jealousy at the prospect of Jem's dalliances with any visitors to the manor house, while aware Jem is bewildered by his outbursts of disapproval. Will Luke allow his jealousy to get the better of him? Might he dare to speak his deepest feelings? Or would that destroy their lifelong bond forever?

A life of set routine is the norm for Raymond Smith. Now in his mid-thirties, a fleeting wartime romance far behind him, he is an exemplary clerk at a London insurance firm where he’s perceived as dry and conventional. But Raymond has a secret. Every month or so, he visits Charlie’s, one of the more understated bars in Soho's flowering gay scene in the 1930s. There, he seeks relief with strangers to get him through the next few weeks. On one of these visits, he encounters suave David Carstairs, a well-travelled linguist with the Foreign Office. Rather than a brief encounter, David offers him friendship and even affection. Despite Raymond’s misgivings, the two men, with their contrasting backgrounds and experiences, start to form a bond in the spring of 1936 as Europe inexorably begins to march towards war. Will Raymond fearfully reject this chance of happiness? Or can he unbend enough to allow David into his heart and life?

Adrian Lethbridge temporarily exchanges his quiet country home in leafy Dorset for fashionable Regency Cheltenham to support his aunt as she introduces her three daughters into polite society. As he is fond of his younger cousins, Adrian is happy to escort them and even bestow advice on fashion and manners as they attract new friends and admirers. But the last thing he expects is to make a match of his own. When he meets handsome Captain Guy Ransome at an evening assembly, he is overwhelmed by his unexpected feelings and can’t believe that they might be reciprocated. However, Guy seems more interested in the thrill of passing pleasure than a meeting of hearts and minds. In the heat of the chase, Guy impatiently regards Adrian’s hesitance as time-wasting game playing, not realising his tried and tested seduction techniques send shy Adrian fleeing in the opposite direction. Can these contrasting characters reach a romantic compromise? And will the hunter discover his heart has been caught after all?

At twenty years of age, Gregory Fletcher is content with his life, biding his time as a serving lad for kindly, wealthy relatives in Elizabethan London. Sometimes he wishes for a spark of excitement in his staid existence. The occasional glimpse of Jehan Zanini, the handsome apprentice of a local merchant, adds spice to his dreams. Out of the blue, Jehan is accused of stealing from an aristocratic customer. Gregory fears he may never see him again and is concerned for Jehan’s liberty and even his life. When Gregory gets the chance to help Jehan escape his fate, he grasps the opportunity without hesitation. Can Gregory engineer Jehan’s flight from London and the authorities? Might he even clear Jehan’s name? And will their adventure draw them closer or fling them apart forever?

At twenty-three, Charlotte Grenville has resigned herself to spinsterhood. With no dowry, she works as a lady’s companion to support her widowed mother and younger siblings who live in the country town of Marlborough in Wiltshire. When family friend Anthony Wallace proposes to her out of the blue, she is perplexed. Not only does Anthony have the habit of ordering everyone around, convinced it is in their best interests, but he is also devoted to his Anglo-Indian partner and estate manager, Simon Walker. Lottie is aware this prospective marriage is purely a business arrangement to rescue her and her family from financial hardship. But should she accept? And will her growing attraction to Simon destroy the delicate balance between the trio?

In late 18th century England, when Matthew Lewis accidentally accepts an invitation to a festive country house party, he vows to stay only as long as is polite. However, not only is there a heavy snowfall to detain him but also, the guests are expected to take part in a recital of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Christmas Day. If amateur theatricals are not enough to contend with, the unexpected presence of his former lover Crispin Marley is sent to try Matthew’s frayed patience. The pair has had no contact since Crispin abandoned him with no explanation four years previously. Matthew is determined to feel nothing but enmity towards his lost love. But the influence of the play can change everything. Can Puck sprinkle a little fairy magic to bring this warring couple back together?