The Guy (Glen Hansard) works part-time helping his father run a small, vacuum cleaner repair business, but dreams of one day having his songs recorded and landing a record deal. Emotionally vulnerable, he is still coming to terms with the recent departure of his girlfriend and lacks the conviction and passion to move on in his pedestrian life.

One day while busking on Dublin's trendy Grafton Street, he meets the Girl (Marketa Irglova), an Eastern European immigrant who has moved to Dublin to start a new life for herself. She is struggling financially and yearns for what she cannot afford - the piano that helps her escape from the daily grind of finding her way through this strange new land. She too is in the process of making crucial decisions about the upheaval in her personal life.

As the Guy and the Girl lives begin to intertwine over the course of an intense few days, their relationship blossoms as they share their music, create songs, forge a band and record a demo album. Through this merging of talents, it brings them both the much needed impetus and direction to their artistic and personal lives. Their shared love of music causes them to flourish and grow with a new found confidence as they take a chance on each other and a new beginning on life.