Roman Brady is a police captain and detective in the fictional midwestern town of Salem. He is also a former agent with the fictional International Security Alliance (ISA), a spy agency focused on the unusually high-level and global criminal conspiracies that tended to center around his otherwise-quiet home town. During his portrayal by Northrop, he was established as a top-notch cop but also a bit of a renegade, often accepting deep-cover assignments, and a master of disguise (similarly to Sherlock Holmes). Hogestyn's character was more by-the-book on the job, although still dangerous with a dark side somewhat characteristic of an ex-spy (which later fed into the "John Black" persona), and more of a ladies' man. Taylor's portrayal is more that of a "regular guy", with a bit less intrigue and more straightforward professionally, although still with an eye for the ladies and more inclined to engage in a one night stand than the character as portrayed by Northrop or Hogestyn (with women such as Kate Roberts, Billie Reed, ex-wife Anna DiMera, and a strongly hinted at - but never confirmed - rendezvous with Nicole Walker).