Ross Rivera is a writer whose cynicism has converted him into a government apologist, is suddenly forced to reassess his role as journalist when he finds himself right in the middle of unearthing a conspiracy linking Muntazir Ghazi, a local warlord, with election fraud and the sporadic killing of journalists in various parts of the country. While Ross wrestles with the his conscience and attempts to convince Greta Manarang, television newscaster and grieving girlfriend of a recently murdered journalist, of his newfound integrity in Manila, Azad and Claire, local journalists who are keep into the tracks of Ghazi, are hunted down by Ghazi's henchmen. Their stories eventually intertwine, revealing a more frustrated than concerned outlook of the state of free speech in a country that supposedly fosters democracy.

Orphan Carding befriends Army Captain Samuel Corazon, who’s stationed in his town to root out the remaining Huk guerrillas. At the dance hall, Corazon woos dancer Lauriana, and they soon move in together. The two become sort of surrogate parents for the orphan Carding, with Corazon teaching him the ways of men. But the soldier has a dark side, and Carding becomes witness to the violence occurring in their home, and a heinous act committed by the soldier on his common-law wife.