Most of Earth has been destroyed by an asteroid. A small military colony, New America, has managed to survive in the Arctic. When a soldier goes missing at the colony, authorities send Ryan Murphy to investigate

Baptiste Lachaud, known affectionately as Tistin, is the only man in the village of Clochemerle not to have a job. With the help of the local mayor, he gets himself registered as unemployed, so that not only can he carry on doing nothing but he will also be paid for doing so. Understandably, the villagers do not take k…