The idea of a "gold standard" monetary system is pretty simple -- the currency's value is fixed to gold. This is really no different than the dozens of "euro standards" and "dollar standards" already in use today. The IMF says that about two-thirds of all governments, worldwide, already use some kind of fixed-value system. The only real difference is the "standard of value."
However, once you move beyond the basic idea, sometimes the details can get complicated. One thing that the U.S. gold standard advocates have been going back-and-forth on for a long time is the principle of "convertibility" -- the legal obligation of the currency issuer to trade its currency for gold bullion, at the official price.
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