As Buffy and Faith are patrolling they are approached by a demon; he isn't threatening them though; he has an offer... he is offering the 'Books of Ascension', which he says relate to the mayor's plans, for $5,000. Of course neither the demon nor Buffy know that Faith is now working for the mayor. She later kills the demon before going to see Angel and trying to seduce him. It turns out the Mayor wants Angelus back; so when this method doesn't work he summons another demon to take Angel's soul by force. With Angelus back it would appear that Buffy and her friends are in real danger.
This episode was rather fun; the demon who wanted money (clearly a sign of declining standards) was amusing; Faith's behaviour, while not totally unexpected, was more mean spirited than I expected and the return of Angelus was a surprise. There were some good twists as certain things we have been led to believe don't turn out to be true. The cast are on good form; Eliza Dushku is particularly good as Faith and David Boreanaz was both menacing and amusing as Angelus. Overall a really solid episode that let the gang know that the mayor is working to a timetable and is older than he appears.
