To make way for a new intergalactic highway, the Earth is slated for demolition. Just moments before the explosion, Arthur Dent is rescued from the planet by his friend, Ford Prefect. Unbeknownst to Arthur, Ford is actually a researcher who is revising a guide for space travel. Together, they seek out the meaning of life and death, meeting a variety of characters along the way, including a depressed, paranoid android, an obsessive former graduate student, and the inept President of the Galaxy.