In Victorian era London, tradesmen and valets debate the upper class's failure to pay their bills on time, with the tradesmen accusing, and the valets fervently defending, their employers ("Come Raise Your Cup"). Lane, a valet, returns home to find his master, Ernest Worthing, rehearsing the proper words to say to Miss Gwendolen Fairfax, to whom he intends to propose that afternoon ("How Do You Find the Words?"). Gwendolen, meanwhile, with the help of her maid Alice, is searching for "The Hat" that will impress Mr. Worthing enough to elicit a proposal.