When Jory Lalaban, a Filipino postman, finds himself the target of a racially motivated shooting, he is forced to confront long buried memories of his life in the Phillippines - how he came to abandon the priesthood to become a worshipper of the Moon; his youth in an orphanage after World War II; the devastating 'curse' that forced him and his bride, Belen, to flee the Philippines for the United States.

The shooting makes international headlines, disturbing the quiet life of the Lalabans, a family forced to face its darkest fears. From Emerson Lalaban who talks to his dead brother on the phone, Michael, Emerson's Taiwanese boyfriend to Belen Lalaban, Emerson's wife, this funny, rich novel unflinchingly tackles the most explosive topics facing America today: race, religion and sexuality.