The Loved One

Dennis Barlow wins an airline ticket and decides to visit his uncle, Sir Francis Hinsley, in Los Angeles. His arrival pulls him into the Hollywood milieu and the Whispering Glades world, setting the stage for the upheavals to come.

Shortly after Dennis's arrival, Sir Francis Hinsley is fired from a major Hollywood studio by D.J. Jr. Devastated, he hangs himself, leaving Dennis to cope with the fallout of his uncle's abrupt end. The personal tragedy marks the first of many disillusions Dennis will encounter.

Dennis inherits most of his uncle's estate and is persuaded by Sir Ambrose Abercrombie to spend the money on an extravagant burial at Whispering Glades cemetery and mortuary. The plan satirizes Hollywood excess while drawing Dennis deeper into the cemetery world.

Dennis becomes infatuated with Aimee Thanatogenos, a cosmetician at Whispering Glades who is naïvely idealistic about poetry. He admires her innocence and romantic aspirations, even as he keeps his own artistic ambitions beneath the surface.

Dennis begins working at Happier Hunting Grounds, the pet cemetery run by the Reverend's twin brother, Harry. He discovers that Aimee is fascinated by poetry and courts her by reciting famous verses, all while concealing his own employment at Whispering Glades.

Aimee is promoted at Whispering Glades, and Dennis suggests they marry so he can live on her income. She considers the idea, reflecting the uneasy mix of romance, ambition, and practicality that threads through their relationship.

On the dubious advice of the Guru Brahmin, a drunken newspaper man, Aimee accepts a dinner invitation from Joyboy, the embalmer. She learns more about Joyboy and his life, including his close but strained relationship with his morbidly obese mother.

Aimee becomes engaged to Dennis. She invites him to her house, which is condemned due to landslides, but ominous tremors alarm him and he cuts his visit short, unsettled by the danger and her cavalier attitude toward safety.

Dennis and Harry meet Gunther Fry, a boy genius with an interest in rocketry, and let him set up shop at the pet cemetery. Joyboy brings in his mother's pet myna bird to be buried and agrees to have the bird shot into orbit on one of Gunther's rockets, revealing the carnival-like direction the cemetery is taking. Dennis finds himself increasingly entangled in competing for Aimee's affection.

Reverend Glenworthy decides to convert Whispering Glades into a retirement community and schemes to obtain surplus rockets by hosting an orgy at the cemetery with top Air Force brass. Dennis tells Aimee that Whispering Glades is to be shut down, causing her to fear for her future and reconsider her loyalties.

Aimee seeks comfort, but the Guru at a bar drunkenly advises her to jump out a window. She flees to the cemetery, where Reverend Glenworthy tries to seduce her with promises of continued employment at a higher pay, deepening her crisis of faith.

Joyboy finds Aimee's body and calls Dennis to arrange disposal in the pet cemetery's crematorium. Dennis agrees in exchange for a first-class ticket back to England and all the money in Joyboy's bank account. He ultimately decides to place Aimee's body in the casket to be launched into space, watches the Condor's rocket launch on television, and then boards his plane.