Ferdinand, King of Navarre, and his friends, Berowne of Biron, Longaville, and Dumain, take an oath to eschew themselves to study for three years. But when the charming princess of France arrives with her three ladies the four gentlemen fall in love with the four ladies. Spying on each other the “academics” discover each other’s perfidy and in good spirit decide that love is a lawful part of all study. Learning that the king of France has died, the ladies are obliged to leave, but not before assigning various penances to their suitors and promising to return in one year.