The second Tawny Man novel deepens the political complexity of Buckkeep while developing the relationship between Fitz and the Fool - now Lord Golden - to its most explicit and emotionally charged point in the sequence. The novel handles questions of identity, loyalty, and the nature of the bond between Fitz and the Fool with considerable directness, and the Fool's various identities and the mystery of their true nature become central concerns. Fitz's role as a teacher to the Witted coterie and his navigation of Buckkeep's politics under a new king provide the plot's framework, but the emotional substance is almost entirely in the personal relationships. Golden Fool is the most interior of the Tawny Man novels and the one most focused on what the characters mean to each other.