A young woman is chased to a cemetery by a bunch of men wearing monk's robes. But Buffy and her merry band are unaware of this, and are delighted about the recent lull of activity on the Hellmouth. Giles frets about this, telling Buffy she shouldn't get lax about her training, but Buffy is ready to let her hair down a little. Meanwhile, Cordelia is dating a fraternity man, Richard -- intrigued mostly by his wealth and society connections. When smarmy Richard comes to pick her up at school, his sweet frat brother, Tom, charms Buffy. But Buffy doesn't want to go to their frat party. As far as she's concerned, she's "seeing" Angel -- if only in the dark. When Buffy tries to get Angel to go out with her, he says their difference in age is a problem, as well as the fact that his demon side tends to take over when he becomes passionate. Dejected, she decides to join Cordelia at the frat party, which requires lying to ever-vigilant Giles about her evening's activities.

Buffy and Cordelia are both drugged at the party and chained in the basement with the young woman from the cemetery. Back at school, a broken, bloody bracelet Buffy found at the cemetery is traced by Willow and Giles to the woman who had been chased. Willow's hacking skills lead to more info -- a year earlier to the day, three other women disappeared and were never found. They go to the frat party with Angel and Xander just as the three women are about to be offered up as a sacrifice to Machida, a snake-like demon who arises every year and is worshipped by the frat boys. Buffy manages to break loose and a scuffle ensues. Tom, who turns out to be way wicked, is about to cut Buffy's throat, but she grabs the sword and defeats Machida. Cordelia, messy but undaunted, chides Tom as he is led away with a typically pithy remark: "You're going to jail for fifteen thousand years!" Giles forgives Buffy for her lie, and Angel shows up at the Bronze and asks Buffy out for coffee. She grins and takes a rain check, as any self-respecting slayer would, and all is well again at the unpredictable Hellmouth.