"The Miller's Tale" is the story of a carpenter, his lovely wife, and two younger men who are eager to carnally know her. The carpenter, John, lives in Oxford with his much younger wife, Alisoun, who is a local beauty. In order to make extra money, John rents out a room in his house to a clever scholar named Nicholas, who has taken a liking to Alisoun. Another man in the town, Absolon the parish clerk, also has his eye on Alisoun.