Aphrodite (Alexandra Tydings) is perusing a table of offerings in her temple when the scar-faced thug Maecenus (Lawrence Makoare) arrives bearing a huge, glittering diamond. She orders him to take it to her temple in Parnassus, where it will be shot into the night sky to be displayed as the centerpiece of her constellation. Aphrodite knows that Xena (Lucy Lawless) is tailing Maecenus and that the diamond must be delivered to Parnassus by nightfall for her plan to work, so she orders him to leave at once. Soon after he departs, Xena, Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) and Joxer (Ted Raimi) arrive, but the Goddess of Love is prepared for them. She has whipped up a perfume called "Obsession" -- one whiff and whatever the inhaler is thinking about at that moment becomes an overwhelming obsession. As the three rush into the temple, Xena explains that Aphrodite has stolen the Mystic Diamond from the Temple of the Heavens and unless they get it back by nightfall, the North Star will be extinguished and the world will be in for some major turmoil. As they admire various items around the temple in their search for the diamond, Aphrodite blows the scent of Obsession at each of them. By the time they leave, Joxer believes he's Atis the ape-man, Gabrielle is infatuated with herself and Xena is completely obsessed with fishing.
By later that afternoon, Xena has figured out that Aphrodite has cast a spell on Joxer and Gabrielle, but she remains blind to her own obsession. All she's concerned about at the moment is making it back to the lake where she and her brother Lyceus used to fish when they were young. It appears that Xena has some unfinished business to take care of. When they were children, she and her brother tried desperately to catch the infamous fish Saularus, but failed. Now it's payback time. Though Xena is unable to control her urge to fish, she still realizes that she and her companions must retrieve the Mystic Diamond. Xena forces Maecenus and his men to detour around the lake by pushing a boulder into a stream which re-directs the flow of water, making their planned route impassable. This way, Xena can still get in a good afternoon's worth of fishing while waiting for Maecenus to come directly to her. Meanwhile, a nearly naked Joxer comes swinging through the trees and scoops up Gabrielle, determined to make her his bride. When Xena rushes to the rescue, she explains to Gabrielle that Aphrodite has stolen the Mystic Diamond because she thinks of herself as the most perfect creature in the universe and the only one worthy of possessing it. Since Gabrielle is utterly self-obsessed, she becomes furious at the thought that Aphrodite considers herself the most beautiful woman in the world and she runs off into the woods to find Maecenus.
When Maecenus and his thugs make it back around the lake, Gabrielle is waiting for them. She jumps out of a tree, knocks the diamond out of Maecenus' hands and takes off running, but is eventually caught. Just as Maecenus is about to get the diamond back from her, Joxer swings in on a vine and snatches her up along with the gem. Maecenus' men soon follow in hot pursuit and catch the two just as Xena begins to reel in Saularus. Despite Gabrielle's desperate cries for help, Xena continues to struggle with her catch. She has Gabrielle toss her the diamond as she battles Maecenus and his men while bringing in the famous fish. But as Xena ties up the bandits with her fishing line, Saularus manages to get away. After freeing Joxer and Gabrielle, Xena attaches the diamond to the fishing line as bait, telling Gabrielle that she is going to send the North Star back to the heavens before nightfall, hoping the powers of the Mystic Diamond will guide it home. Saularus leaps out of the water and swallows the diamond just as Xena cuts the line, catapulting the gigantic fish and the diamond into the sky. Xena is suddenly knocked back into reality, understanding that she was obsessed not only by fishing, but also by unresolved issues she still had with her brother. Once she acknowledged this, the spell was broken. Xena then encourages Gabrielle to get in touch with what's bothering her and once Gabrielle admits she is tired of being thought of as just a silly sidekick, the spell over her is broken. Xena promises to give her more credit for her accomplishments and as Joxer scampers by, decides to let him live one more day as an ape-man.
Guest Starring: Ted Raimi (Joxer), Alexandra Tydings (Aphrodite), Lawrence Makoare (Maecenus), Jason Tahu (Thug #1), Renee Schuda (Young Xena), Callum Gallagher (Young Lyceus)
Starring: Lucy Lawless as Xena, Renee O'Connor as Gabrielle
Teleplay by Adam Armus & Nora Kay Foster
Story by Rob Tapert & Adam Armus & Nora Kay Foster
Directed by Josh Becker