diff --git a/marconiclient/transport/request.py b/marconiclient/transport/request.py
index 9ec0395c..28e91521 100644
--- a/marconiclient/transport/request.py
+++ b/marconiclient/transport/request.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2013 Rackspace, Inc.
+# Copyright (c) 2013 Red Hat, Inc.
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -13,19 +14,69 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
+import json
 
+from marconiclient import auth
 from marconiclient.common import api
 
 
-class Request(object):
-    """General data for a Marconi request, passed to the transport layer.
-    The idea is to be declarative i.e. specify *what* is desired. It's up to
-    the respective transport to turn this into a layer-specific request.
+def prepare_request(conf, data=None):
+    """Prepares a request
+
+    This method takes care of authentication
+    and all other steps in the preparation chain.
+
+    The request returned by this call is ready to
+    be sent to the server.
+
+    :param conf: `cfg.ConfigOpts` instance to use.
+    :type conf: `cfg.ConfigOpts`
+    :param data: Optional data to send along with the
+        request. If data is not None, it'll be serialized.
+    :type data: Any primitive type that is json-serializable.
+
+    :returns: A `Request` instance ready to be sent.
+    :rtype: `Request`
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, endpoint='', operation='', params=None, headers=None):
+    req = Request()
+    auth_backend = auth.get_backend(conf)
+    # TODO(flaper87): Do something smarter
+    # to get the api_version.
+    req = auth_backend.authenticate(1, req)
+
+    if data is not None:
+        req.content = json.dumps(data)
+    return req
+
+
+class Request(object):
+    """General data for a Marconi request
+
+    The idea is to be declarative i.e. specify *what* is desired. It's up to
+    the respective transport to turn this into a layer-specific request.
+
+    *NOTE:* This implementation is not definitive and may change.
+
+    :param endpoint: Server's endpoint
+    :type endpoint: str
+    :param operation: Operation to issue on the endpoint, i.e:
+        - get_queues
+        - get_messages
+    :type operation: str
+    :param content: Request's body. Default: None
+    :type content: str
+    :param params: Query string params. Default: None
+    :type params: dict
+    :param headers: Request headers. Default: None
+    :type headers: dict
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, endpoint='', operation='',
+                 content=None, params=None, headers=None):
         self.endpoint = endpoint
         self.operation = operation
+        self.content = content
         self.params = params or {}
         self.headers = headers or {}
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/transport/test_request.py b/tests/unit/transport/test_request.py
index d01044d1..f3d2ee87 100644
--- a/tests/unit/transport/test_request.py
+++ b/tests/unit/transport/test_request.py
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
+import json
+
 from marconiclient.tests import base
 from marconiclient.transport import request
 
@@ -46,3 +48,14 @@ class TestRequest(base.TestBase):
         req = request.Request(endpoint=HREF, operation='delete_queue',
                               params=dict(queue_name='xy', WAT='!?'))
         self.assertEqual("Invalid params: 'WAT'", req.validate())
+
+    def test_prepare_request(self):
+        req = request.prepare_request(self.conf)
+        self.assertTrue(isinstance(req, request.Request))
+        self.assertIsNone(req.content)
+
+    def test_prepare_request_with_data(self):
+        data = {"data": "tons of GBs"}
+        req = request.prepare_request(self.conf, data)
+        self.assertTrue(isinstance(req, request.Request))
+        self.assertEquals(req.content, json.dumps(data))