Victor and Harlan are two philosophy professors who have been friends, rivals and tricksters since their college days. But now Harlan has become a Stoic who has adopted a strict unemotional regimen in preparation for the afterlife, while Victor has turned into a wild hedonist who believes that “when you’re dead, you’re dead,” so enjoy life while you still can. He intends to squeeze every drop of pleasure from each fleeting moment. While they are vacationing with their long-suffering wives at a remote cottage on the coast of British Columbia, Victor sets up a trick to prove to Harlan the falseness of his philosophy, but the trick goes murderously wrong and all their lives are changed forever.