An aspiring writer and her three friends in New York try to make sense of what life has in store for them after college. They're not sure what they want or whom they want it from, and the picture isn't getting any clearer. Hannah thinks she has what it takes to be a successful writer, if only she would write something. She wants a boyfriend without dealing with an actual relationship, and she wants a job without having to work. Marnie is Hannah's best friend, a Type A personality who has a serious boyfriend and an actual job. Jessa is a devil-may-care bohemian whose apparent lack of fear hides her own kind of insecurity. Her cousin, Shoshanna, is an NYU student who would love nothing more than to experience a "Sex and the City" lifestyle. The others tend to underestimate Shoshanna, but she proves to be a sharp source of wisdom.