For 10 years, Tay-jou Lin, a director and university professor, has read thousands of papers, reports and journals written by his students. Apart from the usual subject matter, they often contain drawings, notes, photographs, love letters, or other personal outpourings, which ultimately gave him insight into their turbulent private lives. The director invited three students to document their stories on ? lm. Dramatisations, animation and interviews with the anonymous students were then interwoven, resulting in The Secret in the Satchel. The documentary explores the complicated inter-personal, family, sexual, and violent relationships of the young students. In his narration, the director expresses anxiety and apprehension as he faces the harsh realities faced by this generation of young people.