Jess is laid off from her teaching job and volunteers to be a shot girl at Schmidt's "rebranding" party.

When Jess learns that a friend is pregnant, both she and Cece panic that time is running out for them to have children. Meanwhile, Schmidt seeks advice on how to please Emma, and Nick and Winston visit the zoo to find inspiration for Nick's zombie-themed novel.

Jess decides to throw Cece a surprise bachelorette party while Nick and Winston awkwardly take her fiancé, Shivrang, out for the night. Then, as Schmidt desperately tries to find a real girlfriend in time for the wedding in order to get a “plus one,” he is forced to seek out his old girlfriend from his “fat Schmidt” college days.

Jess has been hired at a new school and is eager to prove herself as one of the cool teachers.