After Jess realizes that Schmidt is unfairly doing all of the housework, she pushes him to "go on strike," and the entire ecosystem of the loft is thrown off balance. Meanwhile, Nick scrambles when he must pay up to Winston after losing a poker game.

Jess' dad chooses the worst day to pay the loft an unexpected visit, forcing a nervous Nick to spend the day alone with him. Jess finds herself with huge opportunity for a new job on the day before Cece's wedding. Schmidt must take a look in the mirror and confront his real feelings about Elizabeth. Meanwhile, Winston psyches himself up for his huge surprise birthday celebration, which no one seemed to remember to throw for him.

Schmidt receives a series of recent e-mails from his favorite actor Michael Keaton, who has sent letters to Nick ever since he was a kid. However, it turns out those letters and e-mails were not from the actor but from Schmidt's mother and Nick, posing as Keaton. Cece indulges in nightly parties to get over her break up with Schmidt.