A sub-plot of the play is the story of Lauretta, who finds herself banished from the court of Milan and ends up falling in love with the Prince of Florence.

She and Parma fight about it, and the Act ends with Lauretta and her mother discovering the death of General Sforza and realising that they are now destitute.

He takes it into the woods and leaves it there to die, but Parma finds the child and cares for it, beginning to suspect Stroza of orchestrating the problems.

The third act sees the Duke of Milan and his advisors trying to choose a husband for Julia, finally settling on the eligible Prince of Florence.

After the ceremony is performed, the Prince announces his doubt of Julia's chastity, proclaiming that if she is not found to be a virgin that night, then the marriage will not be valid.

Act five holds the climax of the play, opening with the Duke of Milan and Stroza waiting for Lauretta to come out of the Prince's bedchamber.

The Prince, armed with this knowledge, asks Julia to present these items to him later that day, and when she cannot, the switch is revealed, and Stroza is outed as the instigator of all the problems.

Although the original title of the play designates A Maidenhead Well Lost as a comedy, it can also be called a domestic drama because it depicts normal, everyday occurrences such as engagements, sex, arguments between lovers, and childbirth.