In 1961 New York City, folk musician Llewyn Davis sings “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me” to a receptive audience at the Gaslight Café. When club owner Pappi Corsicato tells Llewyn that a friend is waiting in the alley, the singer steps outside to be beaten in the face by a stranger. Llewyn spends the night on the couch of his friends, the Gorfeins, and is awakened by their orange tabby cat. After helping himself to breakfast, Llewyn finds “If We Had Wings,” an album he recorded with his former partner, Mike Timlin, who recently committed suicide. As Llewyn cues the record on the turntable and leaves the apartment, the Gorfein's cat escapes into the hallway, and the door locks behind them. Stuck with the cat, Llewyn travels by subway to the Greenwich Village home of his folk singer friends, Jim and Jean Berkey, and lets himself in through the fire escape. He leaves the cat and his belongings behind, then, desperate for money, meets his manager, Mel Novikoff. When Mel claims there are no royalties for Llewyn’s solo album, as audiences preferred his duo with Mike, the singer laments that he cannot afford a winter coat. Back at the Berkey’s apartment, Llewyn in confronted by Jean, who resents his imposition. As they bicker in front of Jean’s houseguest, soldier-folksinger Troy Nelson, she jots down a note and shoves it toward Llewyn, silently announcing she is pregnant. At the Gaslight that evening, Llewyn appeals to Jean’s husband, Jim, for a cash loan, claiming that he is responsible for yet another pregnancy, but refrains from mentioning the girl’s name. The following morning, Llewyn awakens on the Berkey’s floor to learn that Troy has a pending contract with manager Bud Grossman, who owns The Gate of Horn nightclub in Chicago, Illinois. As Troy leaves for Fort Dix, Llewyn cracks the window to smoke a cigarette, and the Gorfein’s cat escapes. Rushing outside, Llewyn makes a feeble and fruitless search for the cat, then returns to face Jean’s wrath. She reports that she wants a child with Jim, but she can’t be sure if the pregnancy is a result of her affair with Llewyn, and must therefore have an abortion. When Llewyn asks Jean to keep her apartment window open for the Gorfein’s cat, despite the cold, she is appalled that his concern for the animal surpasses his distress about her pregnancy. Unable to pay for the procedure, Llewyn unsuccessfully appeals to his sister, who instead offers him a box of his former belongings. He orders her to throw it away, then telephones Mitch Gorfein, promising to bring the cat back soon. Mitch informs Llewyn of work with Jim at a Columbia Records recording session and he races to the studio, only to unwittingly insult Jim’s composition, “Please, Mr. Kennedy.” Afterward, Llewyn discovers he will not be paid in full, or receive royalties, because his work is licensed by Mel Novikoff. Earning a little cash, but still homeless, Llewyn invites himself to sleep on the couch of fellow musician Al Cody, a Jewish local posing as a cowboy. Llewyn returns to collect his belongings from Jean, and she meets him at Café Reggio. There, he complains about her conservative, “careerist” values, and Jean declares Llewyn is skilled only at sabotaging himself. Just then, Llewyn catches sight of an orange tabby and races outside to retrieve the Gorfein’s wayward cat. He later schedules Jean’s abortion and learns that his former girl friend did not terminate her pregnancy after all. Troubled by the news, Llewyn returns the Gorfein’s cat, and Mitch insists he stay for dinner. When Llewyn grudgingly agrees to entertain guests with a rendition of “Dink’s Song,” Mitch’s wife, Lillian, sings along, replicating Mike’s harmonies. Enraged, Llewyn insults his hosts and Lillian runs away in tears, only to discover that Llewyn returned an imposter cat. Back on the street, with the orange tabby under his arm, Llewyn seeks shelter from the rain by hitching a ride to Chicago with Al’s dubious jazz musician friends, Johnny Five and Roland Turner. On the road, Roland disparages folk music and is unsurprised to learn that Mike jumped off the George Washington Bridge. At a diner restroom, Roland overdoses on an intravenously administered narcotic, and the men drag him back to the car. When they later rest on the side of a freeway, Johnny is arrested for intoxication and leaves the vehicle without keys. Llewyn abandons the cat with Roland and hitchhikes to Chicago. At The Gate of Horn nightclub, Llewyn gives Bud Grossman a copy of his solo album, “Inside Llewyn Davis,” and the manager agrees to hear an audition. After a heartfelt version of “King Henry,” Grossman responds, “I don’t see a lot of money here.” Llewyn promptly declines Grossman’s offer to place him in a trio, and the manager advises him to reunite with his former partner, unaware that Mike is dead. Hitchhiking back to New York City, Llewyn drives through a snowdrift, and swerves to miss an orange cat. He sees blood on the car bumper, and an animal stumbling away, but continues his journey home. There, Llewyn secures work with the Merchant Marine after paying back union dues with his remaining cash. After entertaining his aged, incontinent father with a rendition of “Shoals Of Herring,” Llewyn returns to his sister’s house to pick up his Master Pilot license, a requirement for his new job, but she replies that she threw it away with his box, as he requested. Llewyn returns to Jean, begging her to store his belongings. Taking pity, Jean reports that she has secured Llewyn a slot at the Gaslight, but he complains the earnings will be inconsequential, and his declaration of love for Jean is transparent. Later, Llewyn learns he must pay $85 to replace his license, and unsuccessfully demands reimbursement for his union dues. Llewyn returns to the Gaslight penniless, and owner Pappi Corsicato admits that Jean had sex with him to book her act. In response, Llewyn drunkenly heckles an elderly, zither-strumming performer named Elizabeth Hobby, implying that she slept with Pappi, too. Llewyn is forcibly removed from the venue as he declares his hatred of folk music. With nowhere left to go, Llewyn appeals to the Gorfeins and is welcomed inside. He discovers their cat returned home, and his name is Ulysses. Back at the Gaslight, the following evening, Llewyn performs “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me,” and “Dink’s Song.” Forgiving Llewyn for his previous transgression, Pappi tells the singer he has a “friend” waiting in the alley. As Bob Dylan takes the stage to perform “Farewell,” Llewyn walks outside and is assaulted by Elizabeth Hobby’s husband, who demands, “What you do?” The man speeds away in the back of a taxicab, and Llewyn wishes him “au revoir.”