Frasier, Niles, Martin and Roz attend a charity auction. Niles eagerly places a bid for a private lunch with three Nobel Prize winners, but soon finds himself in a bidding war with Frasier. Eventually, Niles prevails and pays over $4000 for the privilege. Not wanting to miss the event, Frasier agrees to match the bid, which will assure him a place at the table.

Once the smoke clears, Frasier and Niles try to figure out why they’ve always been so competitive. They believe it began when they used to jockey for their mother’s favor as children. She always told them their IQ scores were two points apart, but never revealed whose was higher. Later, Frasier is stunned when they find the IQ results among their mother’s belongings: Niles’ score was actually 27 points higher than Frasier’s!

To prep for the lunch with the Nobel laureates, Frasier “crams” all night at the university library so he can keep up with Niles. An allergy attack compels Niles to take pills that wind up slurring his speech. Between Frasier’s exhaustion and Niles’ medicine, the two brothers blow their big lunch. That evening, Frasier and Niles realize that their competitiveness actually helped spur each brother on and contributed to their successes.