Barney convinces the gang to come to his childhood home to help his mother Loretta move out. As they pack up the house, everyone quickly learns that Loretta has been very protective of Barney over the years, lying to him about everything from his ability in basketball to the identity of his father. This creates an ongoing discussion between Marshall and Lily about lying to your children.
Later, Barney and his black brother James also discover an envelope addressed to a man named Sam Gibbs with a picture of the two of them and the words "your son" written on the back. After confronting Loretta, who refuses to tell them the truth, the two set out to meet the man who may be one of their fathers. Sam turns out to be an older black man, obviously James' biological father and in a fit of denial, and after an emotional reunion with James, Barney pretends to believe Sam is his father too. Meanwhile, Ted is upset when he discovers Robin has oversold him to a potential blind date and in an attempt to fix it, she only makes matters worse.