Set in 1930’s China, the film tells the story of an encounter between three young people which completely alters the future course of their lives. Shaodung, who has been studying cello in the United States, returns home to his impatient and happily expectant fiancée, Ing’er. Her father is the owner of a theatre at which the opera Fleeing by Night will be performed. A big theatre and opera fan, Ing’er invites her fiancé to a performance. There, Shaodung meets the famed singer and star of the opera, Lin Cheung, for the first time and is completely dazzled by his beautiful voice. While Shaodung futilely attempts to gracefully combine Western musical expression with Eastern musical traditions, Ing’er begins to be drawn by turns to both men. She cannot, however, avoid noticing, with feelings of trepidation, their growing attraction for each other.