George wants to break up with his girlfriend Marlene, whose tendency to drag out conversations and phone messages irritates him. After an emotional split, he realizes he has left some books in her apartment. Jerry tries to convince George that he does not need the books, as he has already read them, but George nevertheless persuades Jerry to get them for him. Jerry meets with Marlene so he can retrieve the books. She tells him that she and Jerry can still be friends, despite her recent break-up. Jerry and Marlene start dating; though Jerry finds her just as annoying as George did, and fears that George will be enraged when he finds out they are dating, he finds she has a "psycho-sexual" hold on him. Elaine is upset that a man she was once friendly acquaintances with now no longer even gives her a nod of acknowledgment when she sees him. She eventually builds up the courage to aggressively confront him about this. Inspired by her example, Jerry tells George about Marlene. George tells Jerry he has no problem with him dating Marlene. The following night, Jerry asks Marlene to come up to his apartment, but she breaks up with him. She says she did not think his stand-up comedy act was funny, and she could not date someone if she did not respect what they did.