Targeting theoreticians, this is a book about fitting or assessing asset pricing models based on empirical market data. It approaches the topic broadly, addressing various equilibrium- and arbitrage-based models. Familiarity with the theory behind these models is mostly assumed. The author focuses on assessing, in light of available market data, the reasonableness of the distributional assumptions those models imply.

The book is divided into three parts. The first focuses on estimators, goodness of fit tests and other tools of statistics and econometrics. The second takes up asset pricing, with the pricing kernel as the unifying theme. The balance of the book focuses on arbitrage-free models, especially for credit, equity and fixed income markets. While still theoretical, it addresses a number practical topics such as fitting the volatility smile, model-based hedging, etc.

Singleton is a scholar who has contributed to this area of research. He mentions his own work, where appropriate, but that isn't his focus. The book approaches the topic broadly, with extensive citations of the literature.