diff --git a/lib/src/client.dart b/lib/src/client.dart
index fd4144326f..82b4dc4bed 100644
--- a/lib/src/client.dart
+++ b/lib/src/client.dart
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ import 'dart:convert';
 import 'dart:typed_data';
 
 import 'base_client.dart';
+import 'handler.dart';
+import 'handler_client.dart';
 import 'io_client.dart';
 import 'request.dart';
 import 'response.dart';
@@ -28,6 +30,15 @@ abstract class Client {
   /// [BrowserClient] if `dart:html` is available.
   factory Client() => new IOClient();
 
+  /// Creates a new [Client] from a [handler] callback.
+  ///
+  /// The [handler] is a function that receives a [Request] and returns a
+  /// [Future<Response>]. It will be called when [Client.send] is invoked.
+  ///
+  /// When [Client.close] is called the [onClose] function will be called.
+  factory Client.handler(Handler handler, {void onClose()})
+      => new HandlerClient(handler, onClose ?? () {});
+
   /// Sends an HTTP HEAD request with the given headers to the given URL, which
   /// can be a [Uri] or a [String].
   ///
diff --git a/lib/src/handler.dart b/lib/src/handler.dart
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f1d3a83f3b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/src/handler.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2017, the Dart project authors.  Please see the AUTHORS file
+// for details. All rights reserved. Use of this source code is governed by a
+// BSD-style license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+import 'dart:async';
+
+import 'request.dart';
+import 'response.dart';
+
+/// The signature of a function which handles a [Request] and returns a
+/// [Future<Response>].
+///
+/// A [Handler] may call an underlying HTTP implementation, or it may wrap
+/// another [Handler] or a [Client].
+typedef Future<Response> Handler(Request request);
diff --git a/lib/src/handler_client.dart b/lib/src/handler_client.dart
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..475a3067e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/src/handler_client.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2017, the Dart project authors.  Please see the AUTHORS file
+// for details. All rights reserved. Use of this source code is governed by a
+// BSD-style license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+import 'dart:async';
+
+import 'base_client.dart';
+import 'handler.dart';
+import 'request.dart';
+import 'response.dart';
+
+/// A [Handler]-based HTTP client.
+///
+/// The [HandlerClient] allows composition of a [Client] within a larger
+/// application.
+class HandlerClient extends BaseClient {
+  final Handler _handler;
+  final void Function() _close;
+
+  /// Creates a new client using the [_handler] and [onClose] functions.
+  HandlerClient(this._handler, void onClose())
+      : _close = onClose;
+
+  /// Sends an HTTP request and asynchronously returns the response.
+  Future<Response> send(Request request) => _handler(request);
+
+  /// Closes the client and cleans up any resources associated with it.
+  void close() {
+    _close();
+  }
+}
diff --git a/lib/src/middleware.dart b/lib/src/middleware.dart
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5635a5285c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/src/middleware.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2017, the Dart project authors.  Please see the AUTHORS file
+// for details. All rights reserved. Use of this source code is governed by a
+// BSD-style license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+import 'dart:async';
+
+import 'client.dart';
+import 'handler_client.dart';
+import 'request.dart';
+import 'response.dart';
+
+/// A function which creates a new [Client] by wrapping a [Client].
+///
+/// You can extend the functions of a [Client] by wrapping it in [Middleware]
+/// that can intercept and process a HTTP request before it it sent to a
+/// client, a response after it is received by a client, or both.
+///
+/// Because [Middleware] consumes a [Client] and returns a new [Client],
+/// multiple [Middleware] instances can be composed together to offer rich
+/// functionality.
+///
+/// Common uses for middleware include caching, logging, and authentication.
+///
+/// A simple [Middleware] can be created using [createMiddleware].
+typedef Client Middleware(Client inner);
+
+/// Creates a [Middleware] using the provided functions.
+///
+/// If provided, [requestHandler] receives a [Request]. It replies to the
+/// request by returning a [Future<Request>]. The modified [Request] is then
+/// sent to the inner [Client].
+///
+/// If provided, [responseHandler] is called with the [Response] generated
+/// by the inner [Client]. It replies to the response by returning a
+/// [Future<Response]. The modified [Response] is then returned.
+///
+/// If provided, [onClose] will be invoked when the [Client.close] method is
+/// called. Any cleanup of resources should happen at this point.
+///
+/// If provided, [errorHandler] receives errors thrown by the inner handler. It
+/// does not receive errors thrown by [requestHandler] or [responseHandler].
+/// It can either return a new response or throw an error.
+Middleware createMiddleware({
+  Future<Request> requestHandler(Request request),
+  Future<Response> responseHandler(Response response),
+  void onClose(),
+  void errorHandler(error, [StackTrace stackTrace])
+}) {
+  requestHandler ??= (request) async => request;
+  responseHandler ??= (response) async => response;
+
+  return (inner) {
+    return new HandlerClient(
+      (request) =>
+        requestHandler(request)
+            .then((req) => inner.send(req))
+            .then((res) => responseHandler(res), onError: errorHandler),
+        onClose == null
+            ? inner.close
+            : () {
+                onClose();
+                inner.close();
+              },
+    );
+  };
+}
diff --git a/pubspec.yaml b/pubspec.yaml
index f059565133..10e970bec8 100644
--- a/pubspec.yaml
+++ b/pubspec.yaml
@@ -12,4 +12,4 @@ dependencies:
 dev_dependencies:
   unittest: ">=0.9.0 <0.12.0"
 environment:
-  sdk: ">=1.23.0-dev.0.0 <2.0.0"
+  sdk: ">=1.24.0-dev.0.0 <2.0.0"