The cast of “Revenge”

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. At least that's according to the oft-paraphrased idiom from English playwright and poet William Congreve's 1697 tragedy "The Mourning Bride."

Another saying is that revenge is a dish best served cold. That's true enough, unless of course you're talking about ABC's hit drama "Revenge," in which case it's a dish that's sizzling hot.

After a mid-season break came to an end two weeks ago, "Revenge" is in full swing again, with its newest episode of Season 3, airing Sunday, March 23, on ABC.

It's a story of love, hate and a boatload of vengeance neatly wrapped into a prime-time package that has kept audiences enthralled since the first episode aired in September 2011, and it shows no signs of slowing down. With a cast of characters who are as ruthless as they are powerful and attractive, "Revenge" hits the right notes and takes us into a world where retribution is just surface tension.

Based very loosely on French author Alexandre Dumas' novel "The Count of Monte Cristo," "Revenge" tells the tale of a young socialite with an insatiable desire for retribution. As a child, Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp, "Everwood"), who was then known as Amanda Clarke, saw her father, David, ripped from her life when he was framed for a terrorist plot he had no involvement in and sentenced to jail for treason. Season 1 saw her head to the Hamptons with her new alias as she infiltrated the social sphere of the Graysons, the family who framed her father, to make them pay for what they did to her family. Since then, Emily has made good on the old adage of keeping friends close and enemies closer, slowly enacting her revenge plot and even marrying into the family.

Playing Thorne's primary antagonist is Madeleine Stowe ("The General's Daughter," 1999), who was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2012 for her portrayal of Victoria Grayson, the vindictive matriarch of the Grayson clan. With a film career dating back to the early 1980s and a smattering of one-off appearances in television, Stowe has found her niche playing the yin to VanCamp's yang. Victoria is a perfect balance of glamor and power, as the "Queen of the Hamptons" can be unstoppable when it comes to protecting her name and her children.

Victoria's husband, Conrad Grayson, is the head of the family, David Clarke's former boss and current CEO of Grayson Global, the family's hedge fund company. He was the primary force behind the framing of David, along with his wife, and continues to be one of those characters you love to hate. Two-time Gemini Award-winning actor Henry Czerny ("The Tudors") takes on the role of Conrad and further entrenches himself in the annals of TV villainry.

Joshua Bowman ("Holby City") steps into the picture as Daniel Grayson, a smart, former party animal who turned it around to become a partner at his father's company, and eventually married Emily. Bowman is relatively new to the acting world -- he got his start in 2007 when he appeared in two episodes of "Genie in the House" -- but many applaud his poise and control as his character slowly starts to unravel. Back in November 2013, he told "TV Guide" that he pitched an exit strategy to the show's producers if Daniel's character continues down this path.

Madeleine Stowe as seen in “Revenge”

"I'm trying to pitch a Daniel death by the end of the season," Bowman said in the interview. "I love working on the show, but I'm just being honest. My character has flip-flopped the most, and it's been so hard for me to play."

Whether Bowman's character actually does get the ax still remains to be seen. But if he sticks around, Bowman says he wants to see Daniel become a true villain. "He should be despicable, disgusting and emotionless -- worse than Conrad," he said. "Everything that he never wanted to be times 10! For me, that would be fun and the only way to keep him around."

Another character whose future remains up in the air is that of Aiden Mathis (Barry Sloane, "Hollyoaks"), a love interest of Emily's and her longtime friend. "The Hollywood Reporter" first broke in February that the British actor has been tapped to star in an upcoming Steven Spielberg alien drama on ABC called "The Visitors," in which Sloane will play former FBI agent Wes Lawrence, who works to solve military threats outside of the public eye. Starring in a new drama takes up a lot of an actor's time, so it's still unknown if he'll be written out of the script, killed off or left on in a recurring role.

It's said that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, but "Revenge," manages to keep viewers eyes open and glued to the screen. Tune in to a new episode of Season 3, airing Sunday, March 23, on ABC.