William is a down on his luck druggie in Paris. He takes a room in a seedy boarding house after being mugged for drugs in the street. As the pain of withdrawl racks his feeble body, he hears a strange and wonderful cure coming from the room above his: The sound of a violin. The instrument is played by a girl painfully shy, mute and terrified to open the window in her garret room, for to open it means destruction for her. originally performed as a play, the film version captures all of the atmosphere, mystery and fear of the play. E. Dale Smith playes the luckless William, while the role of Erica Zann is played by two actresses: One represents the mute violinist herself, the other the voice within yearning to get out.