Russ tells everyone not to get him a present for his birthday, but everyone still scrambles to find him the perfect gift. Sam discovers that Russ once owned a beloved exotic bird, so he sets out to track one down. However, he gets into a load of trouble trying to import a bird across international borders.

Sam runs afoul of Meryl when he nominates her for an award, and later discovers that she is not as thrilled as he thought she would be.

Sam has been assigned a new project, however he chooses Russ' pal Ralph to assist him, instead of Meryl. After things go bad, Sam has to crawl back to Meryl to help him straighten out the mess.