[2] A roman à clef, the metaphorical "Deer Park" is Desert D'Or, California (a fictionalized Palm Springs).

The novel's protagonist, Sergius O'Shaughnessy (a recently discharged Air Force officer), is a would-be novelist who experiences the moral depravity of the Hollywood community first hand.

The title refers to the Parc-aux-Cerfs ("Deer Park"), a resort Louis XV of France kept stocked with young women for his personal pleasure.

With fourteen[3] thousand dollars of winnings from a poker game in his pocket, Sergius O'Shaugnessy wanders to Desert D’Or to find a sense of purpose after recently being discharged from the Air Force.

Supreme Studios blacklisted Eitel after he was uncooperative in front of a Senate Subversive Committee regarding his alleged communist ties.

In addition to Eitel and O'Shaugnessy, the other main characters range from movie star Lulu Meyers and pimp Marion Faye to the up-and-coming producer Collie Munshin and studio mogul Herman Teppis.

Eventually, Eitel is presented with another opportunity to get back into the film business after he partners with Munshin and cooperates with the committee.

While everyone else heads back to the capital for their movie careers, O'Shaugnessy wanders to Mexico City, where he becomes a smalltime bullfighter.

The book ends with O'Shaugnessy opening a  bullfighting studio in New York, while Eitel marries Elena but continues to have an affair with Lulu Meyers.

His relationship with Esposito serves as a spark for his creative writing, and he then cuts a deal with Collie Munshin to sell his script.

She marries Tony Tanner, another Hollywood star, though she is unhappy with her marriage and ultimately has a steady affair with Eitel.

Eitel describes Munshin as “clever,” “tenacious,” and “scheming, ” with “short turned-up features” that made him look like a clown.

Before becoming a movie producer, Munshin was previously a salesman, newspaperman, radio announcer, press-relations consultant, and an actor's agent.

Dorothea is described as generous and “handsome with a full body and exciting black hair” and notorious for having been “everywhere and done everything, and knew everything there was to know.” At an early age, O’Faye had an affair with a European prince and gave birth to his illegitimate son, Marion.

At twenty-four years old, Marion is described as “very special” with a high level of intelligence and “light wavy hair and clear gray eyes.” After not finding a job that interested him, Faye started his own small-time escort service.

Faye is well-connected with people of all types in Desert D’Or – everyone from businessmen and entertainers, to gamblers and golfers from the capital.