The main male character is a manipulative libertine who promises marriage to a rich countess for her fortune.

The female protagonist of the play, disguised as a knight, punishes both, the man by deceit, and the woman for her frivolity.

He would choose to marry the richest of the two, that is the heroine, if he had not already signed a contract with the Countess, which would make him lose a large sum of money if he broke his engagement to her.

Lelio thus challenges the Knight to seduce the Countess, so that he could marry the Parisian maiden without paying the sum.

But information of the Knight's real sexual identity leaks among the servants, and even if she refuses to disclose her name, the Parisian maiden has to admit her sex.