The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Forden, Sarah Gay. The House of Gucci. Custom House, 2012. Kindle Edition.

The House of Gucci sandwiches the story of the creation of Gucci as we know it today between the murder of Maurizio Gucci, the last member of the family to have ownership in the company, and the conviction of those involved in his death.

At the beginning of the narrative, an unknown man murders Maurizio Gucci. The police arrive on the crime scene and begin their investigation. The circumstances around Maurizio's death confuse them. He was killed execution style. However, the killer left two witnesses. Since the authorities do not know much about Maurizio, they decide that they will have to look into his background to try to determine who killed him.

To understand Maurizio and his death, readers need to understand his history. Thus, the author begins by telling readers about the Tuscan culture from which the Gucci family originates. The culture shapes their personality and has a strong impact on their behavior. The author then moves on to the beginning of the Gucci fashion house.

Gucci was started by Maurizio’s grandfather Guccio Gucci. Guccio encouraged family members to work in the family business. He wanted the company to remain in the family and only allowed male members of the family to have ownership within it. His own daughter was not given shares in the company following his death even though her husband helped save the company in the early days.

Aldo, Rodolfo, and Vasco, the three sons, uphold their father's decision and take their shares and roles within the company. Of the three, Aldo takes the most interest in it. He uses his marketing skills and creates a vision for growth. He opens Gucci retail stores overseas, first in New York and then in other countries.

However, Aldo faces problems due to factors in his environment that he overlooks. For one thing, he lives in the United States, but he tends to deal with the company's finances as Italians do. He hides money from the IRS. This behavior causes him to spend time in jail.

Secondly, his son, Paolo, thinks that he is a marketing genius. He must work with his Uncle Rodolfo in Italy. Later, he cannot work with his father in New York. Both men fire him. In retaliation, he decides to bring down the company. He almost succeeds. He causes his father to go to jail when he looks into the company's finances and discovers irregularities. He sues to use his own name. He produces counterfeit Gucci products in the meantime. He finally wins the right to use his own name. However, Gucci soon buys back his operations after Paolo's death. Paolo dies in poverty.

The third factor is the rise of Maurizio, Aldo's nephew and Rodolfo's son.

Maurizio‘s arrival in the company was late. He was too young to join his cousins when they started working at Gucci in their youth. Then, he had a rift with his father when he chose to marry Patrizia. His father thought that she was only interested in his money and disapproved of her. It was only after the marriage when Patrizia realized how much Maurizio missed his father and convinced Aldo to talk to Rodolfo that Maurizio started working for Gucci. Aldo offered Maurizio the opportunity to work with him in New York, and Maurizio accepted. He and Patrizia moved to New York.

Once in New York, Patrizia convinces Rodolfo to buy property for the family. By this time, he realizes that Patrizia loves Maurizio. Now, they have a happy family. However, none of this property is in Patrizia's name because the family wants to make sure that daughters-in-law do not get divorced and take family property with them.

Maurizio works with Aldo and learns from him. Then, Rodolfo invites him back to Italy. Maurizio, Patrizia, and their two daughters move to Italy, where Maurizio works in the company. However, throughout Maurizio's life, Rodolfo always makes decisions and tries to protect him. He does not give Maurizio a lot of money because he wanted to teach him its value. However, Maurizio would get money from other family friends when he needed it.

Rodolfo's death gives Maurizio the ability to make his own decisions for the first time in his life. At this point, he thinks that he is the only member of the family who can move Gucci forward. He starts a new war with the family and joins forces with a company named Investcorp. Their maneuvers cause Maurizio's relatives, including Aldo, to sell their stock. Maurizio is the only family member who still owns stock in Gucci.

It turns out that Maurizio has vision, but he is not good at running the business side of the company. He pushes his advisers away if they are not in awe of him. Finally, Investcorp realizes that it can no longer work with him, and another war starts as Investcorp tries to take control. Maurizio is forced to sell his stock.

Gucci goes on to thrive. Maurizio tries to get rid of anything that reminds him of not being able to make decisions. This includes Patrizia. He divorces her and tries to take the children and make Patrizia give up the Gucci name. Patrizia is angry. She lets everyone, including her dishonest friend Pina, know that she wishes Maurizio were dead. After his murder, the police receive a tip that Pina and her friends organized the murder. A sting operation reveals that Pina did it for Patrizia. The team is disgruntled because Patrizia is living well, and they are not. Patrizia is convicted of hiring Maurizio's killer. She spends time in jail and lives with her mother after her release. Years later, she tries to reconcile with her daughters and obtain the right to see her grandchildren and spend time in one of the Gucci properties that she loved.