A young duke, after banishing his older brother, the old duke, decides to banish his niece Rosalind, the old duke's daughter, as well. His own daughter, considering herself Rosalind's sister, flees with her into the forest. Pursued by the young duke, Rosalind disguises herself as a man, and Celia as a shepherdess. All these characters thus find themselves in the forest of the Ardennes.