September 1733. The rightful heir to the Polish throne, Stanislas, is in hiding because of a War of Succession. When he decides to return, he sets up a decoy in the person of a French officer to lodge at the castle of Baron di Kelbar.

Meanwhile, the Baron di Kelbar has arranged alliances with important members of Society by marrying off his daughter and his niece. But, to their grief, the women have other loves.

On the day the real king is maneuvering to regain his throne, the false king is maneuvering to block the arranged marriages and deliver the women to their true loves.

This is a 19th century comic opera replete with mix-ups and misunderstandings. It was so popular that Verdi was commissioned to make a new musical setting of this existing text. In only his second opera, we hear the young Verdi begin to emerge from contemporary musical models to forge the language that was to become his own.