The Roman gay world is mirrored in Jim's relations with his duplicitous partner Danny and the contemporary London scene they inhabit. Events take a weird twist when Jim discovers that his partner is living a double life as a member of a Soho cult involving bizarre sex rites on Hampstead Heath and a charismatic leader called Slut. Jim, repulsed by the cult's activities, finds his relationship with Danny at an end and that he has become a target for Slut's reprisals. He has to take refuge with a female friend, Masako with whom visits Rome to check out sites associated with Heliogabalus. She leads him to a meeting with a wealthy young man called Antonio who claims to be the emperor reincarnated. When Jim and Masako return to London, Antonio pays them a visit which leads to a conclusion every bit as dramatic as Heliogabalus' own murder. Boy Caesar more than confirms Jeremy Reed's reputation for pushing experience to the cutting edge, being an electrifying poetic re-creation of a bizarre period of ancient history as well as a narrative that dissolves boundaries of gender in the complex relationship of Jim and Masako.