Two young men, the sons of very stingy fathers, fall in love with girls who abound in beauty but not in money. Octave secretly married the beautiful but utterly poor girl Hyacinth without his father Argante's knowledge. This was just when his father was planning to marry him off to the daughter of his acquaintance, the wealthy Mr. Geronte. Geronte's son, Leander, in turn loves the lovely Zerbinetta and needs money to ransom her from the gypsies who once kidnapped her. And this is the moment for the cunning servant Skapino, who extorts the necessary money from both fathers.
