Xander, Anya, Buffy and Riley try to watch a kung fu movie in Xander's basement bedroom while his parents argue loudly in the room above. While Xander vocally realizes that it may be the right time to look for another place to live, Buffy over-analyzes the attack method of one of the kung fu fighters in the movie. Riley suggests that maybe she should leave her slayer work behind sometimes. Meanwhile, in a damp dark place, a strange demon recites an incantation for the death of the Slayer.

The next day Buffy, Riley, Willow and Anya accompany Xander while he looks at an apartment. Anya loves it and tells Xander to get it regardless of price, but Xander explains that he cannot afford it with his construction job ending. When Anya blows up in Xander's face about visiting him in his drunk parents' basement, then storms out, Xander decides to fill out the application. At his newly acquired magic shop, Giles rummages through a box of miscellaneous charms and trinkets when he is surprised by the demon who was reciting the anti-Slayer incantation the night before. Giles tries unsuccessfully to stop him by clubbing him with a statue, but the demon knocks Giles across the room with little effort, then leaves. Later that day, Giles recounts his run-in with the demon to the gang while Willow finds a book on demons. She discovers that the demon's name is Toth and that he prefers to fight using special devices. Giles mentions that the demon smelled of a distinct odor but couldn't guess exactly what it was. Buffy, Riley, Willow, Xander and Giles decide to go looking for him somewhere chock-full of odors - the city dump. When they get there, they bump into Spike, who is scavenging for lovely items for the home. When they inquire about the demon, Spike informs them that he sees one right behind them. As the gang turns around to look for themselves, Toth points a rod-like device at them and fires a destructive blast, which misses. He shoots again and Xander dives in front of Buffy, taking the full brunt of the blast. They rush mistakenly over to an imposter Xander, created by the blast, who lies in a pile of trash, and are relieved to find that he is not seriously hurt. After they help him to his feet, they discover that the demon has vanished. As the gang leaves with the newly created imposter Xander, the real Xander lies unconscious in the trash pile, unbeknownst to the Scooby gang.

The real Xander wakes up bewildered the next morning in the city dump. He goes to his house only to find that his room is locked, and when he approaches his window in hopes of breaking in, Xander is shocked to find a person that looks exactly like him is in his room. An exasperated Xander runs to a payphone to call Buffy, but he hangs up when he sees the other Xander walking down the street and decides to follow the imposter. At Buffy's house, Riley seems a bit worried as he watches Buffy packing up weapons for her future fight. Buffy tries to calm him with kisses but is interrupted by gagging noises coming from a disgusted Dawn. Buffy tells her little sister to go away, but Dawn points out that she can stand in the hallway if she wants to. Joyce comes out of her room in the midst of all the bickering and tells them to sort it out themselves. Buffy remedies the situation by slamming the door in Dawn's face. Meanwhile, Xander follows the imposter around and finds that the imposter is apparently assuming his life. Xander secretly watches as his boss gives the imposter a promotion. Then later in the apartment that Xander wanted, the landlady gives the other Xander the keys to his new place. As if this wasn't enough, the imposter calls Anya and asks her to meet him at the new apartment later. The imposter then leaves the apartment and Xander confronts him in the hallway by jumping on his back, but the imposter knocks Xander off easily and leaves.

Xander finally realizes that he needs Buffy's help and rushes over to Giles' place to find her. He peers through a window where he finds the imposter is already there, advising Giles, Buffy and Riley that they have to find and kill his imposter. The imposter informs Buffy that he will be at the new apartment with Anya while she finds and slays the other Xander, who they conclude must be the demon Toth. A desperate Xander goes to Willow's to explain to her what really happened. He tells Willow that the imposter seems to have hypnotized Buffy, and Willow looks for a spell to snap her out of it. Xander is upset and confides in Willow that it seems like his imposter is doing everything better; he's smarter, people are treating him better and maybe he should just let the demon keep his identity. Willow convinces Xander that he is a good person and shouldn't let the demon win. Remembering that the imposter made plans with Anya, Xander takes off, determined not to let the demon have her too. Xander shows up at Anya's place, but Anya is nowhere to be found. At the imposter's new apartment, the imposter convinces an unknowing Anya that he got the new apartment entirely for her because he knew that she wanted it. They kiss, but Anya is stressed out and ruins the mood. The idea of aging does not sit well with her since she used to be a demon and demons live for thousands of years. Charming her with the right words, the imposter and Anya kiss again. Suddenly, the real Xander crashes through the door and orders the imposter to get away from Anya.

Willow hurries over to Giles' place to notify everyone that she has talked to the real Xander and they talked to the demon Toth, who is allegedly impersonating Xander. Buffy, Riley and Giles reflect about how the Xander they spoke to did seem different - more confident and forceful. Looking out from behind a book, Giles informs the gang that neither Xander is a demon. The rod-like device Toth blasted Xander with splits a person in half, distilling personality traits into two separate bodies. One body keeps the stronger traits while the other possesses the weaker traits. Riley asks which Xander is the real one. Giles deduces that both are Xander and the two halves can't exist without each other. Therefore, Toth's original plan was to split Buffy and kill the weaker half, which would kill her all together. Back at the apartment, the two Xanders argue while a confused Anya can only watch. The stronger Xander threatens to take care of the weaker Xander, but the weaker Xander thwarts his attempt by pulling out a gun. Anya and the strong Xander reach for the gun, and soon, all of them are grasping the gun, waving it in the air. As Buffy and Riley race to Xander's new apartment, she asks him if he wishes that she was the one who got split into two people. The stronger Buffy would be the Slayer and the weaker would be the regular Buffy Summers, the one that Riley loves. Riley disagrees and tells her that a big part of being Buffy is being the Slayer. He reassures her that there is no part of her that he's not in love with.

Back at the apartment, the stronger Xander knocks the gun to the floor and quickly retrieves it. He instructs Anya to move out of the way as he points the gun in the weaker Xander's direction. Just then, Buffy and Riley walk in and convince him to hand the gun over to Buffy. Buffy explains to the Xanders that they are both Xander and they can't kill each other. They all decide to go back to Giles' house, but before they can leave, Toth crashes through the front door of the apartment. Toth threatens Buffy by telling her that he would not miss again and takes another shot at her with his device. Buffy somersaults out of the way, missing the blast as Riley jumps on Toth from behind knocking the device out of the demon's grasp. Buffy finishes the job by slaying the demon with a sword. Back at Giles' place, the gang marvels at the fact that they now have two Xanders. Giles researches a way to reintegrate them, but Anya says that there is no hurry- she wants to take them both home and Giles can put them back together in the morning. Giles suggests to everyone that they start the integration process and pretend that they didn't hear the disturbing sex talk. Willow completes the spell and now there the two Xanders become one again. A discontent Anya comments that she prefers it the other way.

The next day, the gang helps Xander move out of his basement, as Anya reads a magazine, refusing to help. Xander brings her a box, which she reluctantly brings to the truck, leaving Xander alone with Riley. Xander tells Riley that he envies how stable his and Buffy's relationship is in contrast to his own turbulent relationship with Anya. Riley replies that he feels very lucky to have Buffy but shocks Xander when he says that Buffy doesn't love him back. Buffy walks in before an astonished Xander can respond, and gives Riley a kiss.

Episode Synopsis by: Michelle Albuquerque