Richard (Leonardo DiCaprio), a young American backpacking in Thailand, has come to Southeast Asia with the intention of experiencing something radically different from the life he is used to. He hears of an island that is supposed to be paradise but is commonly held to be mythical. On this island there is supposed to be a secret community of travelers who have left behind their former lives. Richard initially dismisses the island's existence, but later meets a man, Daffy (Robert Carlyle), who tells Richard that he is a former inhabitant, and who gives him a map to the island. Shortly afterward, Daffy commits suicide.