For the first time in his life, Daniel Blake, a fifty-nine-year-old British carpenter, is obliged to apply for welfare after suffering heart problems. Although his doctor has put him on sick leave and told him he mustn't work, he is obliged to go job-hunting or else he'll be penalized. During his regular meetings at the job center, Daniel crosses paths with Rachel, a single mother with two children, who has been obliged to accept accommodation 280 miles from her home town to avoid having to stay in a hostel. Both caught up in the administrative absurdities of Britain today, Daniel and Rachel will try to help each other.