The sleepy town of Barrio Matiwasay looks like any small town in rural Philippines, but beneath the surface, it is far from normal. Something unusual is happening to some of the town’s kids who just turned thirteen.
Kaleb is small for his age and has been made fun of almost all his life because of it. Lately, he is experiencing anger issues. The angrier he gets, the stronger he feels he becomes. Sometimes, he feels like his whole body is changing, but that can’t be, right? He is also getting strongly attracted to smoking the local tabako being harvested by the farmers and has started climbing trees—an activity he never liked before. He’s also discovering hair all throughout his body. Puberty sucks.
In his dreams, Junjun swears he’s running faster and faster than ever before. When he is running, he feels like he transforms into something else, something that gallops. He wakes up in the morning very tired, with his feet caked in dirt and mud.
Lani feels pain in her abdomen, but she is ready for the whole change that comes with womanhood. But sometimes the pain is excruciating, like she’s being cut in half. And during those times, she feels like she can fly.
One night, during a school Halloween scavenger hunt, Kaleb, Junjun, and Lani find themselves teamed up together in the middle of the forest with another classmate, Kris. They discover they are going through something similar. They also discover something else. Something is afoot, and it results in a death.
With the culprit yet unknown, it seems that it is up to Kaleb, Junjun, and Lani to band together to save their town from the danger that is coming.
Will they be able to control the changes they are going through and harness the powers they are developing to do good?
Or are the changes they are going through a sign of the evil that threatens to infect their town?
Are they heroes, or are they villains?