The Scooby Gang patrol in the absence of the Slayer. Willow and her growing powers lead the efforts and the gang with telepathy and other magic from a perch on top of a crypt with a great view of the cemetery. She's even brought back the Buffybot who helps the group slay several vampires. Xander is still getting freaked out by the way he can hear her voice in his head and howe he has to speak out loud when he 'talks' back to her to make himself sound less weird.

Willow and Tara are now living at the Summers' home with Dawn and the Buffybot. Willow tried to make the robot more normal, but her tuning never really goes quite like planned. She does some strange punning and still seems to have a bit of a thing for Spike.

The Buffybot is sent out with Dawn for Parent Day at Dawn's school. Despite some odd comments and tense moments, the Buffybot doesn't cause much of a scene and isn't suspected of not being real. In fact some of the teachers think she's great, much to Dawn's relief. At the Magic Box, Giles is packing up his items in preparation for his return to England. Anya is torn between the idea of losing Giles and taking over the shop on her own and ends up fighting with him over some of the stock.

That night, Spike babysits Dawn while the rest of the gang have a meeting. Dawn suggests that Spike can leave, but he is determined not to leave her to be hurt ever again and starts a card game. He may not have been able to save Buffy but he won't make the same mistake with Dawn.

The Buffybot hunts vampires, but gets hit with a bottle and her motion skills are impaired leaving her walking into things. Anya has found--on eBay of all places--the Urn of Osiris, the last ingredient Willow needs to complete a spell. Willow's pleased and announces their plans to bring back Buffy the next night.

She stresses that Giles, Spike and Dawn can't know because they'd either stop them or try to help, and that because Buffy was killed by mystical energy, they have a chance of bringing her back.

Willow returns home to find Spike keeping a wounded Buffybot out of trouble. Some left-behind Spike-obsessed Warren programming strikes a nerve with the vampire and he leaves. Without her real sister, Dawn tries to find comfort from the Buffybot, but doesn't get much.

The next day, Giles tries to teach the Buffybot new skills, like breathing, then they talk about Giles' reason to be in Sunnydale now that Buffy is gone.

The vampire that hit the Buffybot with a bottle rants to several biker demons and the news is spilled that a robot has now taken over for the Slayer. The demons ride out to wreak havoc in Sunnydale. Willow works on a spell in an open outdoor location and a baby deer approaches her. She sudden stabs it in the throat and finishes her spell. She returns to the magic shop claiming she got the blood from the black market.

The gang finds a note from Giles stating that he's already left. Not about to accept a silent escape, the track him down at the airport and he gets a proper farewell with presents bought form a petrol station (including a 'grrr arggh' monster), signs, balloons and tears.

After Giles departs, Willow, Xander, Anya and Tara return home for final preparations and then head to the cemetery. They prepare the ritual, sitting around Buffy's grave and Willow begins the spell. Willow is cut on her arms and a large snake is produced from her mouth, but Tara insists that they don't stop. She is being tested, to see if she is worthy of the help of higher powers

Meanwhile, Spike watches over Dawn and the while the bikers are tearing Sunnydale apart. Buffybot tries to stop them, but the leader, Razor, wounds her and she runs away to be repaired using her homing beacon to go straight to Willow.

The bikers then hit the cemetery and interrupt Willow's spell by breaking the Urn of Osiris. Willow is knocked unconscious.

One of the bikers tries to take Anya away, but Tara uses magic to get her back. Xander grabs Willow and drags her with him into the woods, as far away from the biker demons as possible. When Willow comes back to herself a bit Xander tells Willow that the spell didn't work.

In the coffin, a dead, decaying, mummified body is lit by a dusty white glow before it reverts with a gasp back to the live and confused form of Buffy.