For journeyman Arthur Dent, the greatest adventure in the universe begins when the world ends, and it's an adventure of being blown up, attending a poetry reading, being thrown out of an airlock, rescued, reuniting with the love of his life, being shot at, having a fish stuck in his ear, being insulted, whacked, sickened, deprived of tea, learning the answer to the ultimate question, and almost having his brain sawed out by mice.