From the publisher:
It all started as a joke.
Calling the group of cutthroats and cutpurses, bruisers and burglars, leg breakers and loan sharks a "guild" started as a joke somewhere back in the day. It was a flippant comment by someone whose name has long been forgotten, a sarcastic comment comparing the house of rogues to a legitimate establishment like the merchants' guild or the messengers' guild. The comment managed to insult both, the thieves and the businessmen.
Somehow, the name stuck and now organized groups of thieves are inevitably called thieves' guilds.
Many thieves' guilds have been described in broad strokes, and they are all too often described like Fagin's band of little thieves from Oliver Twist. This book takes a different approach and is more inspired by movies like Road to Perdition and The Godfather.
This book presents:
Information about thieves' guilds, including common terms they use, the thieves' code, and the various ranks within their guilds.
Two new uses for the Bluff and Perform skills
4 new feats
new Prestige Classes
3 new spells, and 3 new magical items
Layout, and outside look at a blacksmith shop used as a safe house by a thieves' guild