Narcissistic, brash, and self-destructive Jimmy Shive-Overly thinks all relationships are doomed. Cynical, people-pleasing, and stubborn Gretchen Cutler knows that relationships aren't for her. So when they meet at a wedding, it's only natural that the two of them go home together.

A high school slacker who's rejected by every school he applies to opts to create his own institution of higher learning, the South Harmon Institute of Technology, on a rundown piece of property near his hometown.