Jody's map shop is his haven. He never leaves it, preferring to bury his head in the sands of the Gobi and the Sahara deserts rather than face the world outside his door. Plagued by nightmares, he welcomes visits from his jovial friend Carl, who with each successive visit mysteriously leaves a chair in his wake. As the chairs pile up, Jody and Carl gradually reveal the fear that threatens to engulf their lives. With a nod to the absurdist style of Ionesco, Lonely Planet tells a warm and humorous tale of two men trying desperately to come to grips with a world of frightening uncertainty.