Elizabeth Halsey is an immoral, gold-digging Chicago-area middle school English teacher who curses at her students, drinks heavily, smokes marijuana, and shows movies while sleeping through class. She plans to quit teaching and marry her wealthy fiancĂŠ, Mark, but when he dumps her after learning she is only after his money, Elizabeth must resume her job. She tries to win over substitute teacher Scott Delacorte, who is also wealthy because his family runs a watch company. Amy Squirrel, a dedicated but overly enthusiastic colleague, also pursues Scott while the school's gym teacher, Russell Gettis, makes it clear that he is interested in Elizabeth romantically; she, however, is not interested in him because he's just a gym teacher.