Eileen's life takes a turn for the better when a motorcycle accident lands her with free violin lessons. She develops a newfound relationship with retired police officer turned taxi driver Liao Chun-Ming as well as Kevin, the man of her dreams. There are the familiar family antics of tea-side conversations and late-night karaoke at the local bar. But there also the dreams of something more, interweaving music and love into the suffocating fabric of daily life. Elena portrays the struggles of the average Taiwanese working class, and the difficulties they face in a rapidly changing country that sees rusty old factories as a thing of the past.