Meet the Templetons
Lord Carleton Templeton – the formidable and much-feared patriarch, now on his deathbed
Lady Diana Templeton – the eldest of the Templeton brood, glamorous but fading long before her time, married to Duncan, a serial entrepreneur and insufferable twit
Lord Edgar Templeton – the eldest Templeton son, a man in search of a purpose, co-owner with his wife, Lady Penelope, of Foraged, a high-end Shoreditch-based eatery that is about to serve as the front for an international drug cartel
Lord Guy Templeton – the family’s black sheep, failed hedge fund manager, and uber alpha-male, at the centre of a diplomatic scandal involving the UK ambassador to Russia’s teenage daughter, Cordelia Bingham, and Svetlana Slutskaya, the beautiful, mysterious, and lethal Black Widow of Sochi
Lady Chloe Templeton – the baby of the family, 5-time Tatler “It Girl”, philanthropic and precocious do-gooder, and founder of the S.A.S.S. (Sisters Against Sweatshops) Foundation, on a mission to rid the developing world of pestilence and poverty one sweatshop at a time
Tessa Templeton – the latest claimant to the Templeton fortune, of questionable authenticity but a whole lot of fun
Lady Penelope Templeton – formerly Penny Danziger, the Bachelorette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; American-born wife of Lord Edgar, with a predilection for drugs and BDSM
Lady Fiona Templeton – Lord Carleton’s first wife, now deceased
…And Everyone Else Worth Knowing
Lady Eliza Brookings – widow of Lord Chester Brookings of Brookings Farm, the ultimate social striver, and soon-to-be wife of the ailing Lord Carleton and stepmother to the Templeton brood
Sister Francine – ex-nun, ex-con, and spiritual guide of Lady Eliza Brookings; co-founder with her sister, Essie, of The Movement, a cult-like religious movement devoted to overthrowing the Establishment and battling the coming Apocalypse
Trevor Brookings – Lady Eliza’s son by Lord Chester Brookings, now stuck in a Zimbabwean jail on charges of illegal arms dealing and people trafficking
Dulcinea – Lord Chester Brookings’ younger sister, Lady Eliza’s sister-in-law, possessor of the terrible secret behind Brookings Farm
Lord Spencer Hawksworth – hapless MI-6 agent, best friend to Guy, would-be suitor to Chloe, and on-again-off-again lover to French intelligence officer, Yvette Devereaux
Yvette Devereux – the quintessential French spy, who may or may not be a double-agent, occasional lover of Spencer and all-round bad-ass
Svetlana Slutskaya – aka The Black Widow of Sochi, former wife of a now-dead Chechen warlord, former lover of Guy Templeton, and now assassin and leader of an all-female army of Death Angels at the forefront of the pending Female Apocalypse
Feminina – Svetlana’s eight year-old daughter and ethereal harbinger of the new world order
Cordelia Bingham – eighteen year-old daughter of the UK Ambassador to Russia, at the centre of what has come to be known as The Bingham Affair
Dr. Joanne Singer – American spy, head of The Agency, a not-quite-legit independent espionage organisation
Miguel Rodriguez – Dr. Joanne Singer’s tough-guy lapdog
Rebecca Hastings – one-time Olympic equestrian, now front-of-house hostess at Foraged, wife of PoshTV celebrity chef Nevin Cheswick, mistress of Edgar and secret former lover of Chloe
Cressida Parker – head of PoshTV, ex-fiancee of Guy Templeton and Chloe’s best friend
Tamsin & Jack – PoshTV’s favourite DIY couple
Bree Armstrong & Maximilian Porter – PoshTV’s favourite society gossip show presenters
Elena Grimaldi – florist to the stars and self-declared Tulip Queen of Amsterdam
Tucker O’Donnell – intrepid old-school journalist and another ex-lover of Chloe’s
Bipasha Gupta – Queen of the Hussites, haute couture designer, and head of one of the world’s most dangerous drug cartels
Rajeev Gupta – brother of Bipasha, Harrovian schoolmate of Guy and Spencer, entrepreneur
Cleopatra – Bipasha’s assistant
Hamish Tavistock – Australian entrepreneur with a background in shady deals
Xander – Edgar’s personal assistant