Once
A thirty-something busker performs with his guitar on Grafton Street, a Dublin shopping district and chases a man who steals his money. Lured by his music, a young Czech flower seller talks to him about his songs. Delighted to learn that he repairs hoovers, she insists that he fix her broken hoover. The next day she returns with her broken hoover and tells him that she is also a musician.
At a music store where the Czech woman regularly plays piano, the man teaches her one of his songs ("Falling Slowly"); they sing and play together. He invites her to his father's shop, and on the bus home musically answers her question about what his songs are about: a long-time girlfriend who cheated on him, then left ("Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy").
At the shop, the man introduces the woman to his father and takes her to his room, but when he asks her to stay the night, she feels insulted and leaves. The next day, they reconcile and spend the week writing, rehearsing and recording songs. The woman rehearses lyrics for one of his songs ("If You Want Me"), singing to herself while walking down the street; at a party, people perform impromptu (including "Gold").
The man works on "Lies", a song about his ex-girlfriend, who moved to London. The woman encourages him to win her back. Invited to the woman's home, the man discovers that she has a toddler and lives with her mother. He decides to move to London, but he wants to record a demo of his songs to take with him and asks the woman to record it with him. They secure a bank loan and reserve time at a recording studio.
The man learns the woman has a husband in the Czech Republic. When he asks if she still loves her husband, she answers in Czech, "Miluju tebe", but coyly declines to translate. After recruiting a band from other buskers, they go into the studio to record. They impress Eamon, the jaded studio engineer, with their first song ("When Your Mind's Made Up"). On a break in the early morning, the woman finds a piano in an empty studio and plays the man one of her own compositions ("The Hill").
After the all-night session wraps up, they walk home. Before they part ways, the woman reveals that she spoke to her husband and he is coming to live with her in Dublin. The man persuades her to spend his last night in Dublin with him, but she stands him up and he cannot find her to say goodbye before his flight. He plays the demo for his father, who gives him money to help him get settled in London. Before leaving for the airport, the man buys the woman a piano and makes arrangements for its delivery, then calls his ex-girlfriend, who is happy about his imminent arrival. The woman reunites with her husband in Dublin and plays the piano in their home.
good versus evil, allegory