Set in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, the series chronicles the lives of two waitresses in their twenties—Max (Kat Dennings), who comes from a poor working-class family (and works an additional job as a nanny to a Manhattan socialite), and Caroline (Beth Behrs), who was born rich but is now disgraced and penniless due to her father being caught operating a Bernard Madoff-esque Ponzi scheme—working together at a Brooklyn restaurant. The two become friends and build their dream of one day opening a cupcake shop (for which they need to raise $250,000), although they can barely afford anything with the pay they receive at work, and must continually find ways to make ends meet. Among those working with them at the restaurant are their boss, Han Lee (Matthew Moy); Oleg (Jonathan Kite), an upbeat Russian cook; and Earl (Garrett Morris), the cashier. At the end of each episode, a tally shows how much of the $250,000 goal they have earned so far.
