The gang starts to have doubts about Angel's loyalties when he appears to have become very close with the Circle of the Black Thorn, an evil secret demon society.
In the meanwhile, Angel continues dating Nina, but eventually tells her to leave town fearing for her life when his induction into the Black Thorn becomes a certainty.
With Lorne as a shield, Angel has time to take out a magical gem, using it to grant them a few unobserved minutes to set the group straight about what he is really planning, without anyone else knowing.
Back at Wolfram & Hart, Illyria complains that no one fears her anymore and Wesley is ignoring her ever since she pretended to be Fred.
Ernesto asks for human blood and Angel agrees to make an exception, upsetting Gunn.
Wesley shows all of them the mysterious symbol of a black circle with eight spurs on it and believes it to be a connection to Angel's behavior.
He explains that the symbol represents a small, but powerful, secret society of the elite evil, called the Circle of the Black Thorn who are responsible for the apocalypse.
Lindsey explains that Wolfram & Hart is run by the Black Thorn while the Senior Partners actually live on a different plane of existence.
Back in the dark room from the beginning, Angel takes the bag off the man's face to reveal it is Drogyn.
Angel disarms everyone and pulls a crystal out of his jacket, which activates a glamour that conceals the room for six minutes.
However, the team eventually agrees to go along with Angel's plan as Hamilton ominously watches them from the window outside the office, suspicious but unable to prove anything.