Elaine's new boyfriend, Brett, is obsessed with furniture designed by Karl Farbman and the song "Desperado" by the Eagles. Jerry spots an umbrella salesman using a technique he invented, "The Twirl", but the salesman claims that it was invented by Teddy Padillac, an umbrella salesman Jerry once worked with.
Twelve-cent royalty checks keep arriving from Jerry's brief appearance on a Japanese television show, the Super Terrific Happy Hour. Kramer warns George that the carpet cleaners he hired are actually a front for a religious cult. Intrigued, George waits for them to give their pitch, but they are uninterested in him.
Kramer meets some Japanese businessmen on vacation and takes them on a tour of the city. Confused about the value of ¥50,000 (about $460 in 1996), Kramer spends all their money on expensive clothing and souvenirs. Brett delivers an oversized chest of drawers to Kramer and thinks Jerry might be jealous. Kramer thinks Jerry and George's TV pilot would be perfect for Japanese television. They pitch it to Japanese television executives, who are unimpressed.
Elaine suggests that she and Brett make "Witchy Woman" (also by the Eagles) their song, but he rejects it; Elaine then suggests they share "Desperado", but Brett says "it's mine". Having run them out of money, Kramer puts his Japanese friends up at his apartment. They sleep in the chest of drawers (much like a capsule hotel) and drink with him in his hot tub. Jerry, caught in the rain, runs into Teddy Padillac. Padillac, incensed that Jerry is trying to take credit for "The Twirl", demands $200 for an umbrella. Unable to come up with the money, Jerry is left standing in the rain. Brett is convinced that Jerry is poor since he has no Karl Farbman furniture in his apartment, carries around 12¢ checks, and is unable to afford an umbrella.
George hires the cleaners to do the offices at Yankee Stadium, where they recruit George's boss, Mr. Wilhelm. George is upset that the cult chose to recruit Wilhelm and not him. The humidity from the hot tub warps the wooden chest and Kramer's guests get stuck in the drawers. Suffering from writer's cramp after endorsing all the royalty checks, Jerry can't force the drawers open and instead uses a fire ax to smash open the chest. Brett is injured when he attempts to stop Jerry from destroying the Farbman chest. The scared Japanese tourists tell the television executives about the incident, ruining any chance of selling the "Jerry" pilot to Japanese television. While Brett is being operated on for his injury, the surgeon becomes distracted by "Witchy Woman" playing in much the same way Brett was distracted by "Desperado".