A man in his forties, David, stumbles into a wine bar after getting lost one night in driving rain. Although he is wildly eccentric, David charms the bar's owner who, impressed with his brilliant skills as a pianist, gives him a regular job playing at her bar. David's impromptu performance is, in fact, the first time he has been at a piano after more than a decade of obscurity. Inspired by this, he is transported back to his childhood in which everything seemed to revolve around the piano. Based on the ultimately triumphant life of classical pianist David Helfgott, Shine focuses on Helfgott's painful retreat into a private world while still in his early 20's and on the brink of a glittering international career. Spanning the 1950's to the 1980's, Shine dramatizes the deeply moving way in which Helfgott, after a decade of obscurity, achieves both personal and professional fulfillment through the love and support of a remarkable woman.