In this experimental musical set in 1930s Winnipeg, Canada, amputee baroness Lady Port-Huntley (Isabella Rossellini) organizes a competition offering $25,000 to the person who can compose the saddest music in the world. Musicians -- including a depressed Broadway producer (Mark McKinney), his guilt-stricken father (David Fox) and a Serbian cellist (Ross McMillan) -- flock to Winnipeg with the hope that they will be the best at conveying tragedy and grief in their music.