diff --git a/src/error.rs b/src/error.rs
index 2d6216ec..22a5fc72 100644
--- a/src/error.rs
+++ b/src/error.rs
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ pub enum Error {
     MissingDefaultLayer,
     MissingLayer(String),
     DuplicateLayer(String),
-    MissingLayerContents,
     InvalidColor(InvalidColorString),
     DuplicateGlyph {
         layer: String,
@@ -44,6 +43,8 @@ pub enum Error {
     ExpectedPositiveValue,
     #[cfg(feature = "kurbo")]
     ConvertContour(ErrorKind),
+    MissingFile(String),
+    MissingUfoDir(String),
 }
 
 /// An error representing a failure to validate UFO groups.
@@ -160,9 +161,6 @@ impl std::fmt::Display for Error {
             Error::MissingDefaultLayer => write!(f, "Missing default ('glyphs') layer."),
             Error::DuplicateLayer(name) => write!(f, "Layer name '{}' already exists.", name),
             Error::MissingLayer(name) => write!(f, "Layer name '{}' does not exist.", name),
-            Error::MissingLayerContents => {
-                write!(f, "Missing required 'layercontents.plist' file.")
-            }
             Error::DuplicateGlyph { layer, glyph } => {
                 write!(f, "Glyph named '{}' already exists in layer '{}'", glyph, layer)
             }
@@ -194,6 +192,12 @@ impl std::fmt::Display for Error {
             Error::ExpectedPositiveValue => {
                 write!(f, "PositiveIntegerOrFloat expects a positive value.")
             }
+            Error::MissingFile(path) => {
+                write!(f, "missing required {} file", path)
+            }
+            Error::MissingUfoDir(path) => {
+                write!(f, "{} directory was not found", path)
+            }
             #[cfg(feature = "kurbo")]
             Error::ConvertContour(cause) => write!(f, "Failed to convert contour: '{}'", cause),
         }
diff --git a/src/font.rs b/src/font.rs
index 6dbd357f..af0b0d0d 100644
--- a/src/font.rs
+++ b/src/font.rs
@@ -118,7 +118,14 @@ impl Font {
     }
 
     fn load_impl(path: &Path, request: DataRequest) -> Result<Font, Error> {
+        if !path.exists() {
+            return Err(Error::MissingUfoDir(path.display().to_string()));
+        }
+
         let meta_path = path.join(METAINFO_FILE);
+        if !meta_path.exists() {
+            return Err(Error::MissingFile(meta_path.display().to_string()));
+        }
         let mut meta: MetaInfo = plist::from_file(meta_path)?;
 
         let lib_path = path.join(LIB_FILE);
@@ -393,7 +400,7 @@ fn load_layers(
 ) -> Result<LayerSet, Error> {
     let layercontents_path = ufo_path.join(LAYER_CONTENTS_FILE);
     if meta.format_version == FormatVersion::V3 && !layercontents_path.exists() {
-        return Err(Error::MissingLayerContents);
+        return Err(Error::MissingFile(layercontents_path.display().to_string()));
     }
     LayerSet::load(ufo_path, glyph_names)
 }
@@ -438,6 +445,49 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(font_obj.features.unwrap(), "# this is the feature from lightWide\n");
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn loading_invalid_ufo_dir_path() {
+        let path = "totally/bogus/filepath/font.ufo";
+        let font_load_res = Font::load(path);
+        assert!(matches!(font_load_res, Err(Error::MissingUfoDir(_))));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn loading_missing_metainfo_plist_path() {
+        // This UFO source does not have a metainfo.plist file
+        // This should raise an error
+        let path = "testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo";
+        let font_load_res = Font::load(path);
+        assert!(matches!(font_load_res, Err(Error::MissingFile(_))));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn loading_missing_layercontents_plist_path() {
+        // This UFO source does not have a layercontents.plist file
+        // This should raise an error
+        let path = "testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo";
+        let font_load_res = Font::load(path);
+        assert!(matches!(font_load_res, Err(Error::MissingFile(_))));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn loading_missing_glyphs_contents_plist_path() {
+        // This UFO source does not have contents.plist in the default glyphs
+        // directory. This should raise an error
+        let path = "testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo";
+        let font_load_res = Font::load(path);
+        assert!(matches!(font_load_res, Err(Error::MissingFile(_))));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn loading_missing_glyphs_contents_plist_path_background_layer() {
+        // This UFO source has a contents.plist in the default glyphs directory
+        // but not in the glyphs.background directory. This should raise an error
+        let path = "testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo";
+        let font_load_res = Font::load(path);
+        assert!(matches!(font_load_res, Err(Error::MissingFile(_))));
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn data_request() {
         let path = "testdata/mutatorSans/MutatorSansLightWide.ufo";
diff --git a/src/layer.rs b/src/layer.rs
index e3bb437c..5f1d744a 100644
--- a/src/layer.rs
+++ b/src/layer.rs
@@ -239,6 +239,9 @@ impl Layer {
         names: &NameList,
     ) -> Result<Layer, Error> {
         let contents_path = path.join(CONTENTS_FILE);
+        if !contents_path.exists() {
+            return Err(Error::MissingFile(contents_path.display().to_string()));
+        }
         // these keys are never used; a future optimization would be to skip the
         // names and deserialize to a vec; that would not be a one-liner, though.
         let contents: BTreeMap<GlyphName, PathBuf> = plist::from_file(contents_path)?;
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/glyphs.background/layerinfo.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/glyphs.background/layerinfo.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..87752a44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/glyphs.background/layerinfo.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict>
+    <key>color</key>
+    <string>0,0.8,0.2,0.7</string>
+  </dict>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/glyphs/contents.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/glyphs/contents.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d35e3dae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/glyphs/contents.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict>
+    <key>space</key>
+    <string>space.glif</string>
+  </dict>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/glyphs/layerinfo.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/glyphs/layerinfo.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3cf39b47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/glyphs/layerinfo.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict>
+    <key>color</key>
+    <string>1,0.75,0,0.7</string>
+  </dict>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/glyphs/space.glif b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/glyphs/space.glif
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7ddce5c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/glyphs/space.glif
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<glyph name="space" format="2">
+  <advance width="500"/>
+  <unicode hex="0020"/>
+  <outline>
+  </outline>
+</glyph>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/layercontents.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/layercontents.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e9a336b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/layercontents.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <array>
+    <array>
+      <string>foreground</string>
+      <string>glyphs</string>
+    </array>
+    <array>
+      <string>background</string>
+      <string>glyphs.background</string>
+    </array>
+  </array>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/metainfo.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/metainfo.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7b8b34ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents-BackgroundLayer.ufo/metainfo.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict>
+    <key>creator</key>
+    <string>com.github.fonttools.ufoLib</string>
+    <key>formatVersion</key>
+    <integer>3</integer>
+  </dict>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/glyphs.background/contents.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/glyphs.background/contents.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1e96c942
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/glyphs.background/contents.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict/>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/glyphs.background/layerinfo.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/glyphs.background/layerinfo.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..87752a44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/glyphs.background/layerinfo.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict>
+    <key>color</key>
+    <string>0,0.8,0.2,0.7</string>
+  </dict>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/glyphs/layerinfo.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/glyphs/layerinfo.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3cf39b47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/glyphs/layerinfo.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict>
+    <key>color</key>
+    <string>1,0.75,0,0.7</string>
+  </dict>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/glyphs/space.glif b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/glyphs/space.glif
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7ddce5c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/glyphs/space.glif
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<glyph name="space" format="2">
+  <advance width="500"/>
+  <unicode hex="0020"/>
+  <outline>
+  </outline>
+</glyph>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/layercontents.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/layercontents.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e9a336b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/layercontents.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <array>
+    <array>
+      <string>foreground</string>
+      <string>glyphs</string>
+    </array>
+    <array>
+      <string>background</string>
+      <string>glyphs.background</string>
+    </array>
+  </array>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/metainfo.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/metainfo.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7b8b34ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingGlyphsContents.ufo/metainfo.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict>
+    <key>creator</key>
+    <string>com.github.fonttools.ufoLib</string>
+    <key>formatVersion</key>
+    <integer>3</integer>
+  </dict>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs.background/contents.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs.background/contents.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1e96c942
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs.background/contents.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict/>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs.background/layerinfo.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs.background/layerinfo.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..87752a44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs.background/layerinfo.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict>
+    <key>color</key>
+    <string>0,0.8,0.2,0.7</string>
+  </dict>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs/contents.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs/contents.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d35e3dae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs/contents.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict>
+    <key>space</key>
+    <string>space.glif</string>
+  </dict>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs/layerinfo.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs/layerinfo.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3cf39b47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs/layerinfo.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict>
+    <key>color</key>
+    <string>1,0.75,0,0.7</string>
+  </dict>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs/space.glif b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs/space.glif
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7ddce5c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/glyphs/space.glif
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<glyph name="space" format="2">
+  <advance width="500"/>
+  <unicode hex="0020"/>
+  <outline>
+  </outline>
+</glyph>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/metainfo.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/metainfo.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7b8b34ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingLayerContents.ufo/metainfo.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict>
+    <key>creator</key>
+    <string>com.github.fonttools.ufoLib</string>
+    <key>formatVersion</key>
+    <integer>3</integer>
+  </dict>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs.background/contents.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs.background/contents.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1e96c942
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs.background/contents.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict/>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs.background/layerinfo.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs.background/layerinfo.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..87752a44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs.background/layerinfo.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict>
+    <key>color</key>
+    <string>0,0.8,0.2,0.7</string>
+  </dict>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs/contents.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs/contents.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d35e3dae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs/contents.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict>
+    <key>space</key>
+    <string>space.glif</string>
+  </dict>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs/layerinfo.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs/layerinfo.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3cf39b47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs/layerinfo.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <dict>
+    <key>color</key>
+    <string>1,0.75,0,0.7</string>
+  </dict>
+</plist>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs/space.glif b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs/space.glif
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7ddce5c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/glyphs/space.glif
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<glyph name="space" format="2">
+  <advance width="500"/>
+  <unicode hex="0020"/>
+  <outline>
+  </outline>
+</glyph>
diff --git a/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/layercontents.plist b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/layercontents.plist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e9a336b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testdata/ufo/Tester-MissingMetaInfo.ufo/layercontents.plist
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+  <array>
+    <array>
+      <string>foreground</string>
+      <string>glyphs</string>
+    </array>
+    <array>
+      <string>background</string>
+      <string>glyphs.background</string>
+    </array>
+  </array>
+</plist>