Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), an uneducated Italian-American bouncer who's known for using his fists to get his way, is hired to drive world-class, celebrated pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South. They must rely on the “Negro Motorist Green Book” to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for blacks.

Confronted with racism, danger — as well as unexpected humanity and humor — the mismatched pair are forced to set aside differences to survive and thrive.