In the city of Camorr, Capa Barsavi rules the criminal underworld with an iron fist. With a policy known as the Secret Peace, unacknowledged but respected by he and Duke Nicovante, the thieves and rogues of the city remain largely safe from the city watchmen. Safe, so long as they don’t operate too overtly…and stay away from the nobility.

Locke Lamora and his gang, the “Gentleman Bastards” are a team of expert confidence men who actively breach the Secret Peace, running elaborate cons on the nobility and defrauding them of vast sums of money. Trained from a young age by their mentor, Father Chains, a priest of the nameless god of thieves, they operate out of an old temple, taking collections as a front for their operations.

“Pickpockets rob the common folk, merchants rob anyone they can dupe, Capa Barsavi robs the robbers and the common folk, the lesser nobles rob nearly everyone, and Duke Nicovante occasionally runs off with his army and robs the shit out of Tal Verarr or Jerem, not to mention what he does to his own nobles and his common folk.” — Locke Lamora

Under the guidance of the cunning Father Chains, they became masters of disguise, combat and acting, honing their abilities by going on short learning expeditions, where they practiced trades in order to better fake them.

This they continued, until the arrival of a new player: the mysterious Grey King. Praying on those loyal to Barsavi, he began staging a massive coup, with the Gentlemen Bastards caught in the middle. And it couldn’t have come at a more convenient time for Lamora and his friends, as they were finishing up their largest heist yet, while narrowly avoiding detection.

The Lies of Locke Lamora is an engaging story that successfully blends fantastic worlds and magic with a gritty criminal element and and acts worthy of Robin Hood.