It is an expansion of Leiber's earlier collection Two Sought Adventure, issued by Gnome Press during 1957.

It has been published in the United Kingdom by New English Library (1972), Mayflower Books (1979) and Grafton (1986).

The book collects ten short stories, eight of which were originally published in the magazines Unknown for August 1939, Unknown Worlds for February 1942 and February 1943, Unknown Fantasy Fiction for November 1940, and June 1941, Other Worlds Science Stories for May 1953, Suspense for Fall 1951, and Fantastic Stories of Imagination for August 1963, and two of which first appeared in the book itself.

The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories concern the lives of two larcenous but likable rogues as they adventure across the fantasy world of Nehwon.

There follow a miscellaneous series of adventures from their wanderings, including a quest for treasure in a dwelling with unique defenses ("The Jewels in the Forest"), a return bout with the Thieves' Guild they hold responsible for their ladies' deaths ("Thieves' House"), an ensorcelled journey to a far-away land ("The Bleak Shore"), an encounter with a beast-haunted stranger ("The Howling Tower"), a dangerous visit to the Nehwonian equivalent of Atlantis ("The Sunken Land"), a conflict with a murderous priesthood ("The Seven Black Priests"), a magical plague afflicting Lankhmar ("Claws from the Night"), a final parting with their deceased loves in the Shadowland ("The Price of Pain-Ease"), and an investigation of a mysterious shop that is other than it seems ("Bazaar of the Bizarre").