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This Taiwanese historical drama will be most meaningful to those familiar with the island's 20th-century politics, especially from the 1950s onward during an uprising called the "White Terror" which led to the establishment of martial law through 1987. During this time, anyone suspected of any communist leanings at all was immediately imprisoned. This is the story of Ko, one such leftist who spent 16 years in jail and then 10 more years in a special nursing home. Through it all, Ko obsessively worries about the fate of his best friend Chen, who was executed in the 1950s. Their friendship and Chen's fate are all chronicled in flashback. Soon after his release, Ko begins looking for Chen and visiting old colleagues. It is then he learns the truth and is able to pay his respects. He also learns what befell his wife and why his daughter is angry at him.