Joselito Bato is a rich, successful, young engineer living in Manila who loves to love the women, and they reciprocate. We see in the very first chapter his frivolity in seeking out women in the mall with his friend. He sums them up, distinctly saying he wants no baggage like kids and acting like he is putting in an order for a cheeseburger.

Then he meets Rosa, an unadorned, naturally beautiful Filipina, a young widow with a child, who through her quiet demeanor and steadfastness sees and changes the real man deep inside Jose's façade. Rosa is a school teacher as were both of her retired parents. They welcome Jose but are unsure of his commitment to their daughter. By the end of the book, Joselito is not even the same man that he was before, having metamorphosed into a devoted husband and mature human being within the course of a year.
But now he gets his real test. Soon the talking stops.