This story is pre-canon. Dorian is nineteen, a student at Oxford. He hasn’t inherited his title yet – his father is still alive. He's honing his skills as a burglar but he’s been working alone. The Eroica gang – and his own persona as Eroica – are still in the future.

We know that Dorian’s preference at this stage of his life is for pretty boys of the Caesar Gabriel type. However, we also know he’s a danger junkie. Perhaps he doesn’t always want to take the safe option with his choice of partners. He might be attracted to the darker side from time to time.