The play opens with the engagement party between Clarice and Silvio, the daughter and son of Pantaloon (also spelled Pantalone) and Doctor Lombardi respectively.

Upon Federigo's entrance, it soon becomes apparent that 'Federigo' is actually his sister, Beatrice, disguised as her dead brother in search of the man who killed him, Florindo, who is also her lover.

Silvio, determined to defeat "Federigo" and marry Clarice, asks Harlequin for his master, only for confusion to arise when he fetches Florindo instead.

Meanwhile, Clarice is distraught over Pantalone's decision to marry her to "Federigo" and refuses to speak to Beatrice, causing her to reveal her true identity.

The most famous set-piece of the play occures when the starving Harlequin tries to serve a banquet to the entourages of both his masters without either group becoming aware of the other, while desperately trying to satisfy his own hunger at the same time.

Her impassioned plea after this revelation inadvertently reveals her true identity to him and the entering Pantalone who immediately heads to Doctor Lombardi to have Silvio engaged to Clarice again.

In an attempt to further hide his deception, Harlequin lies separately to Florindo and Beatrice by stating that his friend Pasqual was the others servant and the actual one that caused the confusion, before then continuing in his charade of secretly working for the both of them.

In classic commedia tradition, an actor learns a stock character (usually accentuated by a mask) and plays it to perfection throughout his career.

The actors had a list of possible scenarios, each with a very basic plot, called a canovaccio, and throughout would perform physical-comedy acts known as lazzi (from Italian lazzo, a joke or witticism) and the dialogue was improvised.