Leonardo Rossellini is an Italian priest from Rome, assigned to a parish in Payatas, a poor area of Metromanila, Philippines. Leonardos mission is to counsel battered women and teach poor children. But soon his peace of mind is distraught by the encounter of a woman he used to love when he was still a seminarian. This young woman, Merlinda, is now married to a violent man. She also has a 6 years old child who is missing. Leonardo decides to help her find her son.