Desperate Romantics

The boys need to step up a gear, and so they set out to find a muse to inspire their best work yet. Cue Fred Walters - an aspiring young journo and longtime fan of the boys.

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood continue their quest for credibility, celebrity and success. With the help of their new friend, journalist Fred Walters, they have caught the attention of the pre-eminent art critic of the day, John Ruskin, and they now have to persuade Ruskin to buy their work. The prodigious and impossibly talented John Millais sets about rustling up a masterpiece to show Ruskin. The work is Ophelia, and he chooses Lizzie Siddal to sit for it.

John Millais is delighted to have John Ruskin as his new patron. Ruskin insists on Millais painting his wife Effie, but Millais is horrified that he is expected to sleep with her.

While Hunt is away, Fred sets out to fulfil his promise to look after Annie but, before he knows what is happening, she seduces him. Upon his return, Hunt asks Annie to marry him.

Rossetti and Lizzie revel in their new-found status and wealth, acquired courtesy of Ruskin's generous patronage. Swept up in a whirlwind of late-night partying and debauchery, they forget about their art, including the commissions they've promised to complete. Ruskin is less than impressed. He threatens to end his support unless they calm down and focus.

Rossetti and Lizzie return from their honeymoon ready to settle into conventional married life. However, when Millais proposes the idea of an artistic colony for the Brotherhood and their wives, Rossetti is immediately attracted by the bohemian notion of group living. Lizzie, on the other hand, can't bear to think of Rossetti living under the same roof as other women.