Can philosophy improve the love life of terminally single Dave Gardner? From hedonist and stoic to existentialist and postmodernist, he tries to find out.
Bored with his job as a bilingual dictionary editor at a Norwich publishing house, Dave decides to spend the next twelve months living according to the prescriptions of twelve different philosophies, one each month, chosen at random from a Duffer's Guide to philosophy. His purpose is to see whether any of these philosophical systems will improve his blighted existence and aid his pursuit of the office hottie, Vanessa.
Trouble is, Vanessa's already engaged to the dodgy (and mysteriously wealthy) Dominic. Dave suspects Dom of nefarious activities -- cigarette smuggling? cannabis farming? -- and turns detective in order to expose him, with unexpected results. So overpowering is Dave's infatuation with Vanessa that he barely notices the attention he's receiving from another colleague, the eminently more suitable new secretary Jo.
Month after month, Dave's philosophical experiment backfires in spectacular fashion. His pain-control exercises during his stoic month leave him requiring urgent medical attention. His attempts to live as a rationalist, an empiricist and a logical positivist -- whatever that is -- bring further disasters. As New Year's Eve approaches, he finds himself jobless, penniless, friendless and more single than ever, with only one day left in which to turn his life around.