It's an ordinary Thursday lunchtime for Arthur Dent until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly afterwards to make way for a new hyperspace express route, and his best friend has just announced that he''s an alien. At this moment, they''re hurtling through space with nothing but their towels and an innocuous-looking book inscribed, in large friendly letters, with the words: DON''T PANIC.

The weekend has only just begun . . .