In a northern village, all is sunshine and happiness as a priest blesses a rich harvest celebrated in a pastoral scene reminiscent of an Amorsolo painting. Jacinta (Maricel Soriano) seems a dutiful daughter, contented woman, and a model wife to Peping (Tirso Cruz III). The community views her sister, Clarita (Snooky Serna), as exactly the opposite: she ran off to the city, found a rich husband in Joey (Eric Quizon), and even stayed away from the funeral of their father Arcadio (Robert Arevalo). Their mother Almeda (Armida Siguion-Reyna), the perfect religious role model, has grown somewhat deranged from age and the loss of her husband. When Clarita and her husband arrive in the village to clear up property deeds, the family begins to shatter, peeling off the layers concealing a dark secret that has kept everyone in silent misery behind the happy exterior.