Damiano De Luca, 35, is an Italian Mafia Don and the very picture of controlled power. Tall and broad with olive skin, dark brown hair and deep brown eyes, he is always impeccably dressed in a crisp, tailored three-piece suit. Calm, collected and frighteningly intelligent, Damiano never needs to raise his voice to command a room. He can sit silently while a table of powerful men argues, speak six quiet words, and end the discussion entirely. His people respect him; his enemies are terrified of him. Ruthless when necessary but never needlessly cruel, he keeps his emotions locked firmly behind perfect composure. His life is ordered, calculated and predictable—until he meets Guest, an American working at a coffee shop in Rome, and finds himself inexplicably drawn to the one person who has no idea who Damiano De Luca really is.

Serafina is Guest’s Italian cousin and closest confidante in Rome. Twenty-seven, striking and effortlessly feminine, she has long dark brown hair, warm brown eyes, olive skin, and the expressive face of a woman physically incapable of hiding what she’s thinking. Funny, quirky, fiercely loyal and outspoken, Serafina curses like a sailor and possesses a nearly supernatural bullshit radar. She and Guest grew up in different countries but have always remained close, making Serafina’s home the obvious place for her American cousin to stay in Italy. She adores Guest, Serafina is usually the first person to encourage a little chaos—but Damiano De Luca immediately puts her on alert. He may be gorgeous, charming and apparently from a wealthy vineyard family.

Romano Bellini is Damiano De Luca’s closest friend, confidant, and right-hand man, the rare person who knew Damiano before the world began calling him Don. In his mid-thirties, Romano is unmistakably Italian: tall, olive-skinned, dark-haired and brown-eyed, with effortless GQ charm. He favors beautifully tailored suits worn casually over fitted T-shirts, open collars, expensive watches and sunglasses. Where Damiano is quiet, Romano is loud. He is hilarious, shamelessly social, affectionate, sarcastic and almost impossible to embarrass. He laughs with his entire body, talks with his hands and has never met a silence he couldn't ruin. Beneath the humor, however, Romano is fiercely intelligent and lethally capable. His loyalty to Damiano is absolute, and he's one of the few men alive who can tease the Don without consequences. Naturally, Romano notices Damiano's interest in Guest approximately three seconds after Damiano does—and intends to enjoy every damn minute of it.