Although they live and a provincial city, Liu Cheng, the father (Peiqi Liu) moves to Beijing in hope that his talented violinist son can find the necessary mentor as a step along the way to recognition of his talent. Xiaochun, the son (Yun Tang) is a shy lad but his language is music and it is clear that he should get a crack at the competitive world. Money is one obstacle. Getting a teacher to take him on is another. The seeds of heartbreak are there. Although Yun Tang is a good violinist, the director cast Rong Tang to provide the violin numbers on the sound track, as well as use him for a hand double.

With a script that he co-wrote with Xialù Xue, the director pulls us into the drama so that we feel we have a stake in the boy's future as well as in his happiness. Xiaochun's encounter with Lili (Hong Chen), the grasping mistress of a man who takes her for granted, changes the boy's focus. He becomes enamoured of her, and although she is too old and experienced for him, Lili is impressed by his sweetness. It's more than a case of a lad's raging hormones. There is a fondness that develops, and suddenly there seems to be a lot more to life than his violin, as the plot complications indicate.

The film becomes overly melodramatic, involving competition with a jealous young female student, the tension over a career that can be made or broken in a flash, the father-son relationship, the revelations surrounding and testing it and the general suspense. "Together" grabs unabashedly at the heartstrings. But it succeeds mightily on its own terms, and with the music as an added attraction, it emerges as an emotional and satisfying dramatic experience. In the process we also get an intriguing glimpse of contemporary life in China.