Roz convinces Frasier and Niles to buy tickets to a charity dinner dance. Niles thinks Frasier secretly cares for the station’s owner’s daughter, KACL’s bubbleheaded arts critic, Poppy, whom Niles has a crush on. Frasier denies any interest in Poppy, and instead, focuses his attention on Regan, a pretty, single veterinarian who just moved in next door.

When Niles meets Regan, Frasier notices a flicker of recognition between them, and mistakenly assumes Niles is interested in dating her. In reality, Regan is one of Niles’ clients and he’s only trying to maintain doctor-patient confidentiality. Yet Frasier, who refuses to believe Niles could seriously be interested in a ditz like Poppy, decides Niles really w ants Regan.

Frasier’s suspicions intensify when Niles takes Poppy to the charity ball—he figures Niles is only using Poppy to get to Regan. On the other hand, Niles believes Frasier wants Poppy and has brought Regan as a “beard.” As the dance progresses, the brothers repeatedly cut in on each other’s dates, who finally get fed up and leave the feuding Cranes behind.