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Part 1: Alex's world

Set in a dystopian future, the novel opens with the introduction of protagonist, fifteen-year-old Alex, who, with his gang members (known as "droogs") Dim, Georgie and Pete, roam the streets at night, committing crimes for enjoyment.

Essentially, the first part of the novel is a character study of the protagonist. We learn that Alex is articulate and clever, enjoys classical music (that particularly of Beethoven) and finds amusement during the evenings in committing crimes and acts of sexual violence — justifying himself through his narrative voice. We learn that Alex and his "droogs" have their own language known as Nadsat, and their own hierarchy, in which Alex is the leader. There is a general disregard for the law or for older generations — creating an image of a youth movement which is taking control of this fictional future. (This of course being the exaggeration of the concern that came with the changing values of the 1960s, in which teenagers were becoming decidedly more unruly and rebellious.)

Part 1 involves Alex reflecting on his illegal activity (which involves the rape of two 10-year-old girls, and also the wife of writer F. Alexander) and describes the treachery of the droogs which results in Alex's capture and then later, prison sentence.

The use of lyrical language and Nadsat somewhat masks the horrible imagery of Alex's actions, and, to some extent, Alex is able to draw empathy from the reader, through his friendly nature towards his audience (referring to them as his "only friends", etc.)

Part 2: The Ludovico Technique

After getting caught for his crimes Alex is sentenced to 14 years for murder. Alex gets a job as an assistant to the prison chaplain. He feigns an interest in religion, and amuses himself by reading the Bible for its lurid descriptions of "the old yahoodies (Jews) tolchocking (beating) each other", imagining himself taking part in "the nailing-in" (the Crucifixion of Jesus). Alex hears about an experimental rehabilitation programme called "the Ludovico Technique", which promises that the prisoner will be released upon completion of the two-week treatment, and will not commit crimes afterwards.

Partially by taking part in the fatal beating of a cellmate, Alex manages to become the subject in the first full-scale trial of the Ludovico Technique. The technique itself is a form of aversion therapy, in which Alex is given a drug that induces extreme nausea while being forced to watch graphically violent films for two weeks. Among the films shown are propaganda films such as Triumph of the Will, which includes Alex's beloved Beethoven. He pleads them to remove the music, but they refuse to edit it, saying it's 'for his own good', and that the music may be the 'punishment element'. At the end of the treatment, Alex is unable to carry out or even contemplate violent acts without crippling nausea. He is also unable to listen to music in general without experiencing the same jarring physical reaction.

Part 3: After prison

The third part of the novel concentrates mostly on the following punishment to which Alex is subjected after his treatment. Alex encounters many of his former victims, all of whom seek revenge upon him. He finds himself powerless to defend himself against them, due to feelings of sickness and fear of death, as a reaction to the violence. He finds he has been replaced by a lodger in his home, and wanders the streets, contemplating suicide. Alex falls into the hands of F. Alexander, the husband to the woman whom he earlier raped. Friends of the writer intend to use Alex as a weapon against the political party, exposing the terrible things that have been done to him. Although it is not clear as to whether the friends of F. Alexander intend it, their playing of a symphony by Otto Skadelig below Alex in a locked room drives him to throw himself out of a window instead of endure the pain of the treatment's conditioning. Alex's suicide attempt fails, and leads to his being cured, after the bad publicity for the political party that follows.

Touching on themes of the power struggles between old and young generations, the corruption of the police, and also politics, and attempted (but failed) suicide, the third section of the novel is the most reflective of the troubles of future society, mostly shown through the final chapter, where Alex reflects that he and his friends have either been killed (Georgie), fallen victim to the state (Dim's becoming a police officer) or outgrown their destructive behaviour (Pete). Alex finds that he no longer finds pleasure in "ultra-violence", and yearns for a mate, and a child of his own. Alex knows that the generation after his will probably be just as destructive, but that there won't be anything he can do — perhaps revealing Burgess's ultimate deliberation on the unruly youth.