In 1851, London is in the throes of the industrial revolution. But among the dirty red bricks and smokestacks are four young, thrill-seeking artists: steadfast William Holman Hunt, naive John Millais, mischievous Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and budding journalist Fred Walters, otherwise known as the Brotherhood. Their quest for artistic immortality takes them into some of the lewdest, darkest, and funniest corners of the city.

It's a few months after the end of Season One. Eliza Scarlet has solved her father's murder while her relationship with Inspector William Wellington, aka the Duke, continues to slowly simmer.