Only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of the total annihilation of the universe. They are Arthur Dent, homeless Englishman currently marooned in the deep past; his friend Ford Prefect, temporarily insane to see if he likes it, also marooned; Slartibartfast, once of the planet builders of Magrathea; Zaphod Beeblebrox, ex-confidence trickster and part-time galactic president; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox. In other words: we're doomed.

Born in Cambridge, Douglas Adams is best known for the 1970s BBC Radio series (and later novel, TV series and feature film) THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. He also developed the gameStarship Titanic, the novel of which was written by Monty Python's Terry Jones, wrote the Dirk Gently series of books, and was a script writer on DOCTOR WHO. A committed environmentalist, Adams campaigned actively on behalf of endangered species and - with naturalist Mark Carwardine - he produced LAST CHANCE TO SEE, a radio series and book highlighting species on the brink of extinction.