A limo pulls up at a drivethrough, the occupants of the car are a scarey looking vamppire called Kakistos and his vampiric assistant, Mr. Trick. Trick likes the look of Sunnydale, but Kakistos is only interested in killing the Slayer for hurting him. Trick orders a meal, but when they reach the pay counter he reaches out and takes the unfortunate lad on the till ofr his meal instead.

It's lunchtime and Willow, Oz and Xander are standing on the steps outside school. Now that they are seniors they are allowed to leave the campus at lunchtime, but Willow is worried that she'll get into trouble or be late back or something and in the end Xander and Oz have to pick her up and carry her off down the steps and across the road where Buffy (still not allowed into the school) is waiting for them with a picnic she made all by herself. Cordelia joins them and Xander comments on Buffy's new-found domesticality. Willow spots Scott Hope and when he spots them he comes over for a chat. He seems rather interested in Buffy, much to Willow's happiness and teasing from everybody else.

Buffy and Angel dance at the Bronze. As they dance, Buffy's Claddagh ring slips off her finger and falls to the floor. Angel and Buffy both stoop to pick it up but Angel gets there first. he holds it tightly in his hand and as he does so, blood starts to drip from his fist. Buffy starts to apologise but a circle of blood wells on Angel's chest (where she stabbed him). Shocked, she goes to help him, but he snarls at her and tells her to go to Hell, Angel face changes - it looks all rotten - and he tells her "I did."

Buffy is woken up from her bad dream by Joyce, who tells her that it's time to go and face that nasty little rodent man - Snyder.

At school, Snyder tells her that he has been forced by the school board to let Buffy back in, but she has to pass all her finals from last year and get a glowing report off a member of staff "who isn't an English Librarian".

Now back in school again and back in the Library, Giles asks Buffy what happened with Angel and Acathla. Buffy vaguely goes through it, but won't be pressed into details. Giles needs to know so he can perfrom a spell that will keep Acathla dormant. She tells him that she has an English make-up test and makes a hasty exit. Willow wants to help Giles, but he won't let her (even though she's been doing little spells all summer) it's too dangerous.

That night the gang are at the Bronze, Buffy interupts some Willow/Oz smoochies and is feeling third-wheely. Scott shows up to ask Buffy out and confesses that Willow told him that Buffy would be there tonight. Buffy, still caught up with Angel stalls Scott who tells her that if she changes her mind he'll be waiting for her on the dancefloor.

Xander and Cordelia make an appearence and Cordy makes a bitchy comment about a couple dancing in front of them - a slutty looking girl and a bloke with 70's dress sense. Buffy suspects that they are vamps and decides to follow them when they leave. As she does so she passes Scott who thinks her leaving is actually her coming to join him.

Once outside, Buffy hears the sound of fighting, she runs around the side of the Bronze to find a girl beating up one of the vampires. She turns around and says Hello to Buffy before borrowing her stake and dusting him. by this time the rest of the Scooby gang have joined Buffy and are all surprised by this girl's staking-ability. She introduces herself as Faith, the new vampire Slayer.

later on, they are all back in the Bronze and Faith is telling them about the different Slaying adventures she got up to (which all seem to include nudity - Xander finds it all very interesting). She tells then that her Watcher went to a retreat in England, leaving her footloose and fancy free, so she thought she go and visit her sister Slayer.

The next day, Buffy brings Faith into school to meet Giles, who is sulking because he wasn't invited to the Watcher's retreat, but is soon cheered up when Faith comments on how sexy he is (while the others go 'eugh'). Giles fills them in on the lastest fatalities in Sunnydale before Buffy has to go and take another make-up exam. Willow and Xander offer to show Faith around the school, showing them all the spots where they nearly die before they bump into Scott, who Faith promptly hits on, just as Buffy walks out of her exam and spots them and gets jealous.

That night, Joyce has invited Faith over for dinner, Buffy isn't feeling very hungry, but Faith is eating for the both of them, while telling Joyce about how great it is to be a Slayer. Joyce likes Faith and tells Buffy that she should be more like her new friend, she also suggests that Faith takes over Buffy's Slaying, but Buffy accidently lets slip that the only way for another Slayer to be called is for the previous one to die, Joyce wants to know when Buffy died and why she wasn't told.

After dinner, Buffy and Faith go on patrol and they end up having a big argument when they are attacked by a group of vampires, Buffy is fighting two of them while Faith beats a third into a bloody pulp. The two vampires Buffy is fighting corner her and move in for the kill, Buffy calls to Faith to help but is ignored, in the end Buffy has to rely on herself to get the two vamps dusted.

The next day, Buffy goes to see Giles and tells him about how Faith loves the Slaying a little too much. He decides to phone her Watcher at the Retreat. While Giles is busy, Buffy bumps into Scott in the halls and he invites her to a Buster Keaton festival. She agrees and he gives her a present - he thought it would suit her - a silver Claddagh ring. Buffy, has a little freak out, which is seen by Giles. He bundles Scott off and tries to comfort Buffy, who won't have any of it before telling her that Faith's Watcher is dead.

After school, Buffy goes to Faith's motel where she catches the end of a conversation where Faith is sweet talking herself out of paying the rent. Buffy demands some answers and faith tells her that her Watcher is tortured by a nasty-vampire called Kakistos. She tried to kill him, but only manged to scar him with her stake before she ran away, and now he's after her. There is a knock on the door and when Faith goes to answer it, Kakistos is standing there. Faith goes into a panic and Buffy has to drag her out of the bathroom window and away to safety.

They run through Sunnydale and hide in an old building. They think they have escaped Kakistos . . . until they see the dead and drained bodies around them, they've walking into a trap - Kakistos's lair. Kakistos and his hench-vamps burst in and Kakistos takes on Faith while Buffy fights the hench-vamps. Faith is getting a real beating from the vampire, she is too scared to fight back. Buffy breaks free of the vampires and stakes Kakistos in the back, but the stake is too small for it to have any effect on him.

Mr. Trick and another vampire are watching the fight, they decide to leave while the going is still good and leave Kakistos to the Slayers.

Faith meanwhile, has come to her senses and she breaks off part of a beam of wood which she stakes Kakistos with. He explodes into dust - a job well done.

Faith comments that she's hungry and Buffy agrees so they leave to go and get something to eat.

The next day, Giles tells Buffy that he'll be training up Faith until a new Watcher can be found for her. Giles is still working on the spell for Acathla and Buffy realises that she needs to tell him what happened and start to come to terms with Angel's death. She tells him everything, that the Spell of Restoration worked and that she has to thrust a sword through him to save the world. Buffy then leaves, she needs some time on her own leaving Giles and Willow alone in the Library. Once she is gone, Willow offers to help Giles, but he tells her that there is no spell, he wanted Buffy to let her feelings out.

Buffy waits for Scott to come out of his class and when he does she apologises for the way she has been acting and asks if he still wants her to go out to the festival with him. He considers (for all of a second) and agrees, they makes plans for that night, but Buffy tells him that she has to do something first.

Once the sun has set, Buffy returns to the mansion. She looks around, remembering everything that happened there. She goes over to the fireplace and lays her Claddagh ring (the one Angel gave her) on the floor. She takes one last look around before leaving.

Time passes . . . the Claddagh ring starts to glow, and then it starts to bounce up and down as something shakes the floor. A light comes from the ceiling and Angel drops down out of the hole of light, semi conscious and naked.