Euclio, a poor peasant, finds a pot of gold which he is terrified of losing; he hides it in his house. He has a daughter Phaedrium who is (unknown to Euclio) pregnant, having been raped by the young man Lyconides. Lyconides' rich uncle Megadorus plans to marry Phaedrium precisely because she is poor. Euclio reluctantly agrees, but when he finds his house full of people preparing for the wedding feast he takes the gold and tries to find somewhere else to hide it. Lyconides' slave becomes aware of this and manages to steal the gold. Meanwhile Lyconides, who is aware of his obligation to Phaedrium, learns of his uncle's plan and gets his mother to persuade his uncle to abandon it. The moment when he explains the situation to Euclio is just the moment when Eulcio has found out that his gold has been stolen. Lyconides soon finds out that his own slave is the thief. From here on the text is lost. The end of the play is given in the ancient summaries: Lyconides gets his slave to give Euclio back his gold. Euclio, understanding that his obsession with keeping the gold caused him only unhappiness, presents both it and his daughter to Lyconides. Provides the first detailed commentary on the text for over a century; Critically examines the various options that have been proposed for the end of the play, its construction and influence on subsequent classical drama; Provides a detailed and comprehensive background to the writing, performance and transmission of the play in its ancient Roman setting.