The book assumes no prior knowledge of investments so that a beginning investor can understand the principles involved. It starts by emphasizing the need for investing and then introducing the different type of investments such as bonds, common stocks, mutual funds and ETFS etc. As for the stocks, it explains what the stock is and what investing in the stock market means. It introduces the stock market indexes, the types of stocks and how to trade stocks on brokerage sites. It then discusses the stock valuation measures and how they play role in the selection of stocks. It provides a detailed discussion for the selection of stocks supplemented with practical examples using the brokerage internet site. It complements it with a brief description of the sectors and industries for investment. There is a full chapter on the investment in bonds and other fixed income securities as well. 

For those who do not want to get involved with the selection of individual stocks, there is a chapter on the selection of mutual funds and another on the exchange traded funds which provide the investment in the stocks and bonds. It is followed by the concept of asset allocation, diversification and rebalancing and finally the plan for successful investing.