Taipei in the 1990s: Ko is a young gay writer who has written a story about his sexuality, and is encouraged by his mentor to enter it into a prestigious writing competition. But that would mean publicly revealing his homosexuality, so Ko must decide whether or not to remain in the closet. Meanwhile, Ko’s working habits are disturbed by the presence of a man whom he picked up for sex. Chen’s acclaimed film from 1996 artfully evokes the furtive queer lifestyles of the time – the cruising in parks and the anonymous encounters – while subtly capturing the rhythm of the writing process and the textures of everyday life. Ultimately, this is a film about profound loneliness, the yearning for love in a culture that is not quite ready to accept it.