Jess hires, then must immediately fire Coach as her school’s new volleyball coach. Meanwhile, Schmidt gets sued and enlists Nick and a procedural television-loving Winston to represent him at the deposition. Also, Cece catches the eye of a much younger man.

It’s a lockdown in the loft when Schmidt’s arachnophobia forces the group go on a spider hunt. In the midst of this chaos, Winston inadvertently makes Jess think that Cece is in love with Nick.

Jess applies for a job at a progressive new school, but things take a turn when she finds out the principal is dating her ex-boyfriend, Sam. Meanwhile, Nick gets a cold and Schmidt quarantines the roommates to prevent himself from getting sick before his big presentation.

Jess and Cece jump on the campaign trail and make a bet with a disbelieving Schmidt that they can recruit voters for the upcoming Presidential election. Meanwhile, Winston teaches Nick about modern phone sex.

On Valentine's Day, Jess tries to convince the gang that she is perfectly content being single. Meanwhile, Schmidt competes for a big promotion and Winston's proposal plans to Aly are expedited.