Several months ago, a group of monks rushed to perform an ancient ritual while a powerful force of some sort threatened their lives. Trying to smash into the room they were working in.

In the present, Buffy, who as always, is on patrol, stakes a vampire outside an abandoned factory or warehouse building. As she brushes herself down she is caught by the patrolling night watchman who thinks she's a just a teen looking for a rave. He notices a glowing orb lying on the floor and asks Buffy if it's hers. Sensing that something is amiss she taks the orb off him.

The next morning Buffy makes breakfast for Joyce, who is still suffering from headaches that the doctors can't explain.

Giles's big Magic Shop opening is less than successful at first, but eventually, the magic shop gets to be so busy and so full of people, that he can't handle it all on his own and ropes in Willow, Xander and Anya to help. Buffy presents the orb to Giles, but he doesn't recognise it and decides some research may be in order, once it's a little less busy.

While at the hospital picking up a prescription for her mother, Buffy encounters the night watchman fromthe facotiry again as he's being forcably strapped down to a trolley. He's seems insane, but he is coherent enough when he warns Buffy that she will be attacked through her family.

A monk works on a blue print in an empty building. Tyhere is banging from outside as the sheet steel door is broken down. Through the swirling dust steps The Beast, who reveals itself to be a supernaturally-based blond female. The Beast tries to torture information about the Key out of the monk, but he won't tell her anything. She gets annoyed with him and starts to speak incoherently until she plunges her fingers into the head of a security guard and seems to suck the lifeforce from him and a ghostly white light.

Buffy assumes that the danger she was warned about by the night watchman is what is causing her mother's headaches. Anya recommends to Buffy that she performs an incantantion to see any spells that may be affecting her family, they'd appear as an aura.

Buffy doesn't want Riley to feel unwanted, so she offers to let him help her with the performing of the incantation. He realizes what she's doing, but they talk and agree to take care of each other. Buffy performs the ritual in her bedroom then walks around her house to look for anything unusual.

Nothing appears weird about her mother, there are no aruas or anything, but Buffy sees Dawn fading in and out of pictures around the house. Buffy storms into her sister's room and confronts Dawn about it, and she concludes that Dawn isn't her sister. Buffy threatens Dawn, but Buffy's supposed little sister is truly confused and doesn't understand why her sister has gone all wiggy on her.

Giles rings to tell Buffy about the orb. It's called the Dagon Sphere, and its purpose is one of protection from an unnamed evil. Buffy returns to the abandoned building in hopes of finding more information.

As she leaves, Buffy encounters Spike lurking outside her home. when she asks him what he's doing in five words or less he tells her "Out. For. A. Walk. Bitch." before walking away. Buffy notices loads of fag ends around the base of the tree Spike was hiding behind. She decides it's a mystery best left until later.

Buffy comes up a.gainst the Beast (otherwise known as Glory) and finds herself unable to fight against the woman's incredible strength. After taking quite a beating, Buffy is able to escape with the monk in tow. Glory throws a wobbly and it causes the room around her to collapse burying her under tons of rubble.

Giles can cope with all the customers and notices that Anya is doing a really good job as a salesperson and thusly offers Anya a job. Outside the factory, in the last few breaths of his life, the monk warns Buffy that she must protect the Key. He tells her that a collection of energy put into a human form, Dawn. She is the Key. They sent her to Slayer to be protected from those looking for it, creatures like Glory. Before he dies, he tells her that her memories of Dawn were constructed, and that Dawn is innocent human who not only needs the Slayer's protection, she needs her sister's.

Back at her house Buffy apologizes to Dawn.