As Father Severino Mallari, a 19th century priest during the Spanish occupation, descends into madness, his life and work as a parish priest in Pampanga is recounted, where he reportedly murdered 57 people to aid his ailing mother.
In a rural coastal village in the Philippines, Mona trains under her mother to start working as a professional mourner-for-hire. After a botched performance, Mona retreats from her mother's fury, and seeks out a shaman to cure her inability to cry.