The film tells the story of an abandoned baby named "1900" who became attached to the piano on an ocean liner, becoming a legendary story in piano master.
1900 (Tim Roth) is an orphan abandoned on a steamboat and adopted by a kind-hearted furnace burner (bill nunn) on board. However, the burner died unexpectedly, and 1900, who was only a few years old, became an orphan again. 1900 with his extraordinary talent, he became a piano companion and learned piano skills that even the most famous jazz pianist at that time was willing to admit defeat. However, his fate naturally made him deeply wary of the world of mortals. He never dared to leave the ship and go ashore, because he felt uneasy about the tall buildings and crowds in new york. Even when he meets the girl he loves (Melanie Thierry), he gives up the impulse to go ashore to find his first lover after careful consideration. He stayed on the ship forever until his only good friend (Pruitt Taylor Vince) warned him that the abandoned ship would be blown up and he didn't want to leave.