Born to a Lithuanian Jewish family that emigrated to the UK after the Iron Curtain rose across Europe, Steven Braff's parents were poor but hard working, having lost their fortunes to the Soviets. Through dint of that work ethic, dedication and natural intelligence, he put himself through medical school, and became a renowned heart surgeon. Saving lives was his passion, though he was also able to cultivate new ones thanks to the high pay of his profession and shrewd investments: a taste for fine wines, the opera, literature, golf.

For a time, his passions also included Eleanor Lowenstein, a striking, elegant socialite. After a whirlwind affair, they were married, but love soon cooled to a blend of distance, resentment and bitterness, which dragged on for years. Steven soon began looking for excuses to stay late at the hospital, attending work functions... anything to avoid going home to Eleanor. Though they've never children, if they divorce he stands to lose at least half his wealth to her. He stays with her for that reason, and out of a sense of responsibility and a certain unwillingness to start again on the romantic scene so late in his life.

Steven is tall and well-built, kept trim and agile at 42 by regular squash games, running and training for the London Marathon each year. Greying hair sweeps back from his handsome, strong-featured face and compassionate dark eyes. His hands are strong and skilled - a surgeon's hands, adept at wielding a scalpel, pen, wine glass or racquet, and due to the need to scrub up constantly (amongst other reasons) he tends not to wear his wedding ring. He is brilliant, urbane, worldly and unfailingly kind.