Mr. Sheffield decides to send Maggie off to a convent in Switzerland and wants Fran to tell her the news. Trying to smooth things, Fran tells Maggie about the time she went to a kibbutz in Israel with Val, which makes Maggie want to go to a kibbutz as well. While not happy with her decision, Mr. Sheffield eventually agrees. But Fran later remembers that she hated the kibbutz and it was there she lost her "hat". Now she has to convince Mr. Sheffield to go back on his decision, which results in the whole family going on the kibbutz. Meanwhile, Niles has the holidays for himself and C.C. teases him for being cheap. They both go on their ways but meet in the most strange place.