[2] The novel depicts the identity, emotional belonging, and self-exploration of lesbians, and uses the metaphor of a "crocodile" to represent a homosexual who is forced to live in disguise in a society that is dominated by heterosexuals.

The odd-numbered chapters are written in the first person in the form of private diaries, describing the university life of the protagonist Lazi and others, as well as their conflicts between self-identity and emotional belonging.

The novel is set in Taipei of the late 1980s, post-martial law, detailing Lazi falling in love with a female classmate and befriending many other queer characters.

[7] The even-numbered chapters are written in the form of monologues by an anthropomorphized crocodile, which satirize and allude to the lonely and oppressed fate of a "sexual deviant" in human society.

[5] Literary scholar Tze-Lan Deborah Sang (桑梓蘭) believes that the novel is a blend of realism and animal fables.