At the height of a high stakes mahjong game that has been going on for ten hours in the back room of Consuelo's Mortuary and Funeral Home, Don Emilio Latagon will bet his old stone house in the center of Manila against Manuel Guerrero. Mr. Guerrero, having already put his shoe repair business into the pot, will have no choice but to offer up his seventeen year old daughter with her famous grey eyes to match Don Emilio's bet. At the next hand, Don Emilio will pick a flower tile, useless for his impending siyete pares hand. At his turn, Mr. Guerrero picks a three bamboo to complete an escalera. Despite luck saving his daughter and business, Mr. Guerrero's only visible sign of elation will be a slight smile. By the door stand Don Emilio's bodyguards and their unlicensed pistols. The only sound now comes from the muffled cacophony of the guests at the wake outside.