After being stranded on pre-historic Earth after the events in "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe", Arthur Dent is met by his old friend Ford Prefect, who drags him into a space-time eddy, represented by an anachronistic sofa. The two end up at Lord's Cricket Ground two days before the Earth's destruction by the Vogons. Shortly after they arrive, a squad of robots land in a spaceship in the middle of the field and attack the assembled crowd, stealing The Ashes before departing. Another spaceship arrives, the "Starship Bistromath", helmed by Slartibartfast, who discovers he is too late and requests Arthur and Ford's help.