In the title story, a Filipina-American emigrant living in Silicon Valley tries to make sense of her native country by following the trial of a provincial mayor accused of gang raping a teenage school girl, a "gift" from his nephew. In the tropical Gothic story, "Rufino," the narrator learns of the death of her family's driver who has lived for lonely decades "caged" above their garage. From the heart-breaking "Infected" to the brutal "Sutil" Villanueva brilliantly blends past and present in a seamless undercurrent of emotion and longing.