Aegeon, a merchant from Syracuse, is apprehended in Ephesus because it is illegal for Syracusans to be in Ephesus. The Duke of Ephesus, Solinus, tells him that he must pay a ransom or be condemned to death. Aegeon then relates to the Duke his tragic tale of separation from his wife and one of his twin sons twenty-three years earlier in a shipwreck. The other son left Aegeon five years earlier with his servant (also a twin; these twins were also separated in the shipwreck) in search of his missing brother. Aegeon decided to follow him and now finds himself in Ephesus. The Duke is sympathetic to Aegeon's plight and gives him twenty-four hours to raise the money.

Unbeknownst to Aegeon, the son he is searching for, Antipholus of Syracuse, has just arrived in Ephesus with his servant, Dromio of Syracuse. Antipholus is unaware that he...