Chicken soup machine repairman and intergalactic loser Dave Lister awakes from suspended animation to discover he is the lone survivor of a radiation leak and is now three million years into deep space and the last surviving member of the human race. Dave is soon joined by a hologram of his dead bunkmate, a life-form who's evolved from his pet cat, and a neurotic sanitation mechanoid. Together this unlikely bunch of heroes attempt to find their way back to Earth, under the guidance of Holly, the ship's senile computer, encountering a whole heap of smeg on the way.