Dorian Gray's extraordinary beauty wins the admiration of an artist who begins painting portraits of him, all but one depicting him as an ancient hero.

This single portrait is of Dorian in his very essence; an honest depiction of his character and beauty. But when someone tells Dorian that beauty fades, he begins to see the portrait as a menacing thing, which will inevitably remind him of the beauty he once had.

Dorian pledges his soul for a critical exchange: that the picture bears the burden of ageing and dishonour, and that he stays young and beautiful forever.

As Dorian indulges in the most hedonistic of lifestyles, exploiting his own beauty and completely disbarring all morality, the portrait grows uglier and older while he shows no signs of physical degradation. Dorian Gray is a story of extreme selfishness, masked by the appeal of eternal beauty.