Summary

At the outset of Less is Lost, in Sunset, Less is travelling to the Sierra Nevada to give a lecture. Recently, he has been receiving a deluge of offers to participate on panels and interview other authors. When his agent Peter Hunt calls to tell him about an offer to interview the famed author H. H. H. Mandern, Less refuses. He is tired of travelling and wants to return to Maine, where his partner, the narrator, Freddy Pelu is on sabbatical. However, shortly after, he receives a call from Marian informing him that his ex-lover, Robert Brownburn, is dead. When they met, Robert was married to Marian and dissolved their marriage to live with Less. At the Shack, in San Francisco, Marian and Less talk while the housecleaner vacuums cleaning solution off the rug. Robert owned the house and had lived there with Less...