Backstreets is about prostitution. It allows the individuals who participate in it-prostitutes, pimps, and those who buy sexual services-to tell their own stories in their own words. Women, for example, explain why they become prostitutes and how they experience the daily sequence of "tricks." Men discuss why they become customers of prostitutes and what they get out of the experience. Pimps describe how they see themselves and the prostitutes upon whom they depend.

The authors have studied the prostitution market of Oslo for over ten years. Their research has involved extensive interviews with participants, observation of Oslo's prostitution district, personal interaction with prostitute women, and analysis of city police records. They conclude that prostitution is embedded in the gender relations of an economically stratified society and that those who experience prostitution over an extended period of time suffer deep emotional damage.