Lyla is an exceptional cellist, Louis an Irish rock musician. A single, magical night above the rooftops of New York changes everything for both of them. But Lyla's ambitious father keeps the lovers apart. Worse still, when the heavily pregnant Lyla suffers an accident, he lets her believe that she has suffered a miscarriage... A few years later, a young boy makes his way through the Big Apple as a street musician. He calls himself August Rush and delights passers-by on Washington Square with his extraordinary talent. This also arouses the curiosity of the shady vagabond Wizard. He cleverly knows how to take advantage of the boy's musical talent. But the sound of coins in the guitar case is of little interest to little August. What drives him is much more the voice of his heart and the longing desire to draw the attention of his parents, whom he has never met, somewhere out there...