A young British poet arrives in Hollywood and finds himself entangled in the bizarre, commercialized funeral industry of Southern California. Dennis Barlow, a displaced intellectual working at a pet cemetery, navigates the grotesque social hierarchies of the expatriate film community and the opulent, artificial world of Whispering Glades Memorial Park. His objective to secure a future for his romantic interest, a cosmetician at the mortuary, is thwarted by the rigid, profit-driven logic of the funeral directors and the absurdity of local customs. The narrative framework employs a detached, third-person perspective to highlight the collision between traditional British sensibilities and the hollow materialism of the American West.

Readers and critics frequently identify this work as a quintessential example of the author's biting satirical style. Discussion often centers on the clinical, almost detached manner in which the narrative treats the morbid subject matter of the funeral business. Many observers highlight the effectiveness of the setting, noting that the artificiality of the memorial park serves as a perfect foil for the characters' personal failings. The balance between the comedic elements and the underlying grim reality of the plot remains a frequent point of analysis for those examining the author's broader body of work.