The film mainly focuses on 28-year-old Dave Peck, who is unemployed but prefers the search for the meaning of life to the search for gainful employment. While looking in a magazine, Dave finds an advertisement for a book that will tell him the meaning of life "for the low price of $9.99." Dave, fascinated by this, begins his journey in his Sydney apartment to find the true meaning of life. As the film progresses, stories of Dave's family and neighbours are woven in and examine the post-modern meaning of hope.