Argan, a cantankerous hypochondriac obsessed by his ailments, is surrounded by a court of corrupt and ignorant doctors who take advantage of him. A tyrannical father, he is set on marrying his daughter Angélique to the nephew of Monsieur Purgon, his faithful personal physician. However, she is in love with the young Cléante and resists his wishes, even if it means being sent to a convent. The odious stepmother Béline further fuels the conflict. It takes the tenacity and wiles of the maid Toinette for the masks to fall.