The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby

During a meal in a restaurant, Conor reveals to his date, Eleanor, that he does not have enough money to pay for the bill. The two dine and dash.

Years later Conor is running a pub and is married to Eleanor. On a break, he visits Eleanor in their apartment, where she is depressed and confined to her bed after the death of their son. She tells him that she dreamed that he had an affair and she thinks it would be better for them if he did cheat on her. Conor is upset by what she is saying, but dismisses it. The following day, returning home, he finds the apartment empty and receives a phone call that Eleanor has been hospitalized following a suicide attempt. At the hospital Eleanor tells him she wants to separate and asks him to let her disappear for a while. Shortly after, Eleanor disconnects her phone and cuts off all communication.

Unable to live in their apartment alone, Conor moves back in with his father. While discussing the failure of his marriage with his best friend Stu (Bill Hader), Stu reveals to Conor that he saw Eleanor and believes she is taking classes at NYU. Conor begins to follow Eleanor. Eventually, he goes to one of her classes and passes her a note saying "Hi." Eleanor leaves the class and the two have an angry confrontation, with Eleanor insisting that he leave her alone. Conor is hit by a taxi cab as he leaves and Eleanor stays with him until the ambulance arrives.

After going over the bills for his restaurant, Conor realizes they are losing money and cannot keep afloat. Depressed, he has a one-night stand with Alexis (Nina Arianda), the bartender of his restaurant.

Conor goes to Eleanor's parents' home to try to see her, but instead is confronted by his mother-in-law, Mary (Isabelle Huppert), who gives him little information and suggests that he and Eleanor want different things now. Shortly after, Eleanor comes by the pub and the two rent a car and go for a drive. He tells her that he will be packing up their apartment the following week as he can no longer hold onto it. When it begins to rain and the windshield wipers do not work the two begin to kiss but Conor confesses he has slept with someone else. The two return to the city.

Conor throws a closing party for his restaurant. While there, he sees a young couple on a date and notices that they try to dine and dash. He follows them, chasing down the man and tackling him. Ultimately, he decides to let him go.

Conor goes to his former apartment to clean it out. He falls asleep, and when he wakes Eleanor is there. The two talk about their son and Eleanor reveals she can no longer remember what their son looked like. Conor tells her that he mostly looked like Eleanor, but with his eyes. The two sleep together, but by the time Conor wakes up, Eleanor is gone.

Sometime later Conor is working at his father's restaurant. He decides to take a walk before the late night rush. As he walks, he does not notice he is being followed by a woman who appears to be Eleanor.

While biking over The Manhattan Bridge Eleanor Rigby decides to commit suicide and climbs the barrier and throws herself into the East River. She is successfully rescued. At the hospital she is collected by her sister, Katy (Jess Weixler) who brings her back to their parents' home where Katy, along with her young son, are also living. Unsure of what to do with her life Eleanor decides to listen to her father's suggestion that she re-enroll in school. She talks her way into late registration in professor Lilian Friedman's (Viola Davis) class and the two become friendly.

Eleanor's father (William Hurt) also attempts to get her to see a psychiatrist. It is revealed that Eleanor has recently lost a son and has been incapable of coping with the grief.

In class one day Eleanor is handed a note and realizes it has been sent to her by Conor. She leaves class and the two have a heated argument where she tells him to leave her alone. Finally assenting, Conor leaves only to be hit by a passing car. Eleanor reveals to the taxi cab driver who hit him that Conor is her husband. Conor is only mildly injured by the incident and before he goes to the hospital he asks if he can see Eleanor again.

After Katy tells Eleanor that Conor has been by the house, Eleanor goes to see him at his restaurant, where she learns it is failing. She suggests that they rent a car and go driving aimlessly, something that she had once suggested they do when they were dating. Conor rents the car but it begins to rain heavily and their windshield wiper is broken making driving impossible. While they wait for the rain to pass Eleanor tries to initiate sex but Conor stops her and Eleanor realizes he has slept with someone else during their separation. She tells him it doesn't matter but on the return trip home she gets out of the car early and takes a moment to gather herself before continuing home.

The following evening, Eleanor and Katy go clubbing. Eleanor tries to pick up a stranger to have a one-night stand but finds herself unable to go through with it. Instead, she later goes to her former apartment to see Conor. She tells him she can no longer remember what their child looked like and he tells her that their son looked like her. The two have sex, but Eleanor leaves and returns home. At her mother's suggestion she decides to leave for Paris and finish the anthropology dissertation she abandoned when she met Conor.

As she says goodbye to her family, her nephew asks when she will return and is told she will come back next summer.

Sometime later, Eleanor returns to New York City. She sees Conor and follows behind him for a while before calling out to him.