Ilana, an exceedingly talented twelve-year-old cellist, is now old enough to receive her first full-sized cello, and so her parents make the investment in a very expensive and very old instrument. When she plays it, however, it sounds wrong. She keeps trying and trying until she eventually starts to hate playing. Her teacher believes that it might be the cello and takes her to visit a famous cello maker who has a secret — and a very unorthodox way of building his instruments.