Duke Vincentio of Vienna, overwhelmed by the affairs of State, hands over control of the city to Lord Angelo, leaving Escalus as Second in Command. A man of strict morals, Angelo immediately enforces long kept but seldom used laws governing sexual activity, leading to the arrest of a young man named Claudio for engaging in pre-marital sex with his fiance, Julieta. Claudio’s friend, Lucio, learns of the news at a strip club run by Mistress Overdone where a man named Pompey brings even more bad news: all the brothels in the city are to be torn down. Lucio visits Claudio in jail, where Claudio implores him to seek assistance from his sister, Isabella, who is about to enter the convent to become a nun. He believes Isabella may be able to persuade Angelo to spare his life. Meanwhile, Duke Vincentio goes to the Franciscan monastery and informs Friar Thomas that he intends to disguise himself as a monk in order to get a closer look at how Angelo governs.
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