Ode to Joy follows a man named Charlie, who has gone through life affected by cataplexy, rendering him perpetually unable to enjoy himself. Now in his late thirties, he has mastered the art of remaining sustainably miserable and under stimulated: he works at a library, he commutes to work listening to funeral marches, and he suppresses romantic feelings, especially joy. This routine is put to the test when he meets the vibrant and spectacularly complicated Francesca and begins to fall in love.