After the death of a friend, poet and pet funeral director Dennis Barlow enters the artificial Hollywood world of Whispering Glades Memorial Park. Within its golden gates, death is presented and sold, in true American style, as a fully catered vacation destination. In this unique setting, Dennis meets the vulnerable and somewhat unworldly Aimée, an innocent Californian beautician for corpses, and Mr. Joyboy, the master of embalming. This dark and sharp satire on the Anglo-American cultural divide, "The Loved One," depicts a world where love, reputation, and death carry a high price.