During the period of martial law in 1960s Taiwan, some teachers and students from Cui Hua High School were arrested for possessing banned books. A female student fell to her death and rumors spread of a ghost haunting the campus. Thirty years later, the draconian culture of the school remains unchanged as a new transfer student uncovers the dark secrets behind the school’s haunting.
Yang Shi-Nan is a 14-year-old boy who undergoes a metamorphosis without realising what is going on. It begins on a normal school day when he gets stomach cramps. After rushing to the toilet he notices that his urine is turning bloody red. Taken to a doctor he is diagnosed with “Disorders of Sex Development,” or intersex. Without consulting him, Shi-Nan’s parents decide to accept “sex reassignment surgery”, turning Shi-Nan into a female and changing her name to YANG Shi-Lan. The family moves to a new city to start a new life and it all seems to be going well as Shi-Lan blends in and even makes friends. It seems like the butterfly is about to break out of its chrysalis but can Yang Shi-Lan truly embrace her transformation?
In the 1994 post-martial law period in Taiwan, the students were in the midst of protest. Chi-wei, a female college student, joins the strike to fight for their freedom of expression. During the protest, she slowly becomes attracted to Ching, the girlfriend of the leader of the student strike.
