The lavish historical BBC drama series presents the life and times of a group of pioneering artists and their coterie in 19th century England. They went on to become Britain's most celebrated artists. Behold the pre- Raphaelite Brotherhood. London, 1851. The industrial revolution is changing the city. Bringing vivid colour in amongst the dirty red bricks and smokestacks of the noisy bustling streets are four young, thrill-seeking, outspoken and audaciously creative mavericks-John Milais (Peter Egan), Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Ben Kingsley), William Holman Hunt (Bernard Lioyd) and Thomas Woolner (Gareth Hunt) otherwise known as the Brotherhood. Championed by the most famous art critic of the time, John Ruskin (David Collings), the artists are also joined by sassy, sexy model Lizzie Siddal (Patricia Quinn). Their quest for artistic immortality takes them into some of the most debauched, darkest and liveliest corners of the city.