At the start of the episode, Jerry is packing for a weekend trip to Minneapolis. He has a brief chat with Elaine, who will watch his apartment for the weekend. He explains to her the various quirks of his apartment and how to work around them, as well as his personal preferences regarding what activities (such as sex) can and cannot take place. George comes in and recommends to Jerry an apartment up for rent, and Elaine jumps at the chance to take his apartment should he move out.
When Jerry returns, he finds that his apartment has been robbed. Evidently, Kramer left the door to Jerry's apartment wide open. Jerry points out that his deadbolt is one of the most impenetrable and reliable locks in existence, and has only one design flaw: the door... MUST BE CLOSED! A policeman comes by and files a report, and the incident prompts Jerry to seriously consider moving into the apartment that George told him about.
Jerry, George and Elaine then go to check out the apartment, and have discussions about trivial details regarding the apartment's features, such as having to tip a guy for bringing in firewood. Jerry decides to take the apartment, and makes arrangements for Elaine to take his old one. George brings the lease, and Jerry expresses concerns about the three-year term. George then says that he'll take the apartment if Jerry doesn't want it. This becomes a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, as the fact that George wants it makes Jerry not want it. The two then flip a coin, which results in Jerry winning. George claims there was "interference", so they play a different game to decide, which Jerry also wins.
Later, Jerry and George are eating in a diner, and they resolve their conflict of interest by deciding that neither of them will take the apartment. George ends up selling the apartment to a woman in the diner, who, along with her husband, thank him at the housewarming. The husband proceeds to boast about the advantages of the apartment, causing the trio to feel even worse. They overhear a businessman talking to a friend about moving to Atlanta, and his friend asks what he's going to do with the apartment. He replies that he has no choice but to put it on the market, at which point Jerry, George and Elaine turn around in unison and ask: "What's the rent?"
This episode demonstrates the following examples:
- All There in the Script: In the original script, the Englishman is named Berbick.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Kramer barely appears, as the idea at this point was still that he never left the building.
- Fanservice: Elaine is seen walking around Jerry's apartment in bare feet in one scene.
- Karma Houdini: The robber was never identified and was never caught.
- Police Are Useless: The cop investigating the robbery flat out admits that they never find the stolen property.
- Suddenly Shouting: Jerry, when informing Kramer of his lock's "design flaw.""The door ... MUST BE CLOSED!!!"
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Kramer's subplot is also never resolved, as he never finds out if the guy in the elevator really did steal Jerry's belongings.
