Back on Earth with nothing more to show for his long; strange trip through time and space than a ratty towel and a plastic shopping bag; Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription; the mysterious disappearance of Earth's dolphins; and the discovery of his battered copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy all conspire to give Arthur the sneaking suspicion that something otherworldly is indeed going on. . . . God only knows what it all means. And fortunately; He left behind a Final Message of explanation. But since it's light-years away from Earth; on a star surrounded by souvenir booths; finding out what it is will mean hitching a ride to the far reaches of space aboard a UFO with a giant robot. But what else is new? From the Paperback edition.