The life of a cellist, playboy, and confirmed bachelor in late Soviet-era Prague is upended after he agrees to marry a Russian woman for money so that she isn't deported and ends up taking care of her abandoned five-year-old son Kolya.

Ramón Sampedro wants to end his life because a diving accident 28 years before that turned him into a quadriplegic. For most of those years he made the most of it: writing, developing a close relationships with his family, who all help to care for him. While grateful to his family and friends for their help, Ramón was always an active person. He has come to see his life as frustrating and pointless and wishes to die with what remains of his dignity....