The fifth and final volume in the humorous SF series that began with THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY is somewhat darker than its predecessors. The Earthman Arthur Dent spends years selling genetic material in exchange for travel to various parallel universes in search of somewhere vaguely resembling his home planet. When he finally settles (actually, crash lands) on a backwater planet, his pleasant new career as tribal sandwich-maker is interrupted by the arrival of his daughter, Random–the result of those many, many sales of his DNA. Meanwhile, Arthur's friend Ford Prefect discovers that the happy-go-lucky executives of his employer, the publishers of THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, have been replaced by a frighteningly grim and worryingly familiar new management team. His plot to disturb their business plan puts him once again into Arthur's path...with devastating results.