Young Martin Simmonds befriends Jewish Polish violin prodigy Dovidl Rapaport, whose parents leave him in the care of the Simmonds family. The two boys become like brothers until the musician vanishes shortly before the 1951 London debut concert that would have launched his brilliant career. Thirty-five years later, the adult Martin (Tim Roth) discovers that Dovidl (Clive Owen) may still be alive, and sets out on an obsessive intercontinental search to find him and learn the secret behind his disappearance.