In this satire, a cartographer discovers an isolated North African village in which the sole occupation is counting upward. Living in their utopia forces him to reckon with the utility of reason and the necessity of pain in human life.

A series of deaths leave students wondering about life. After watching their class's pet gerbil, fish and plants die, the students are left wondering if their school is cursed.

A young man who is forced to leave his lover as he is sent to America by his disapproving father, finds himself battling expectations and his own individuality.