 Two blind men pursue ephemeral and unlikely hopes. One is an aged master, a wandering troubador venerated as a saint, in physical decline, waiting to break his 1,000th banjo string, an event his own master promised years before would bring him sight. The other is his apprentice, Shidou, who longs for a woman s love and is enchanted with the radiant and spirited Lanxiu. The two men are encamped outside Lanxiu s village, the saint using his energy and voice to bring peace between warring factions. Does sight await the saint when the 1000th string breaks? Can Shidou s strength of character overcome provincial prejudice to win the hand of Lanxiu and a place in the village?