A shameful period in Taiwanese history provides the backdrop for this emotional drama from writer and director Yonfan (aka Yang Fan). In 1949, in the wake of the 228 Incident (in which anti-government protesters launched a rebellion that was violently put down by authorities), Taiwan came under martial law, and through much of the 1950s brutal reprisals against suspected communists were commonplace. During the years of the "White Terror," thousand of supposed dissidents were killed, imprisoned or simply disappeared at the hands of the military police.

An aspiring violinist and a professional translator live parallel lives and appear to be perfect for each other, but somehow fate seems to keep them apart. Living in different units of the same apartment building, they never meet, because when they leave, one turns left, and one turns right.