The Gonzaga family is an upper-middle-class Filipino family largely shielded from the direct impacts of colonial violence, yet their identity and dynamics are significantly influenced by it.

The family includes Rio Gonzaga, the daughter and main narrator who offers a reflective perspective on her family’s story; Freddie Gonzaga, Rio’s father, an influential businessman working for the Alacran family; Delores Logan Gonzaga, Rio’s mother, a former beauty queen focused on her appearance; Raul Gonzaga, Rio’s older brother who becomes a fundamentalist Christian minister; Belen Garcia Gonzaga, Raul’s first wife; Erlinda Gonzaga, Raul’s second wife; Lola Narcisa Divino, Rio’s maternal grandmother, a Filipina married to an American; Whitman Logan, Rio’s American maternal grandfather; Socorro Pertierra Gonzaga, Rio’s paternal grandmother, embodying Spanish colonial influence; Cristobal Gonzaga, Freddie’s wealthy brother living in Spain; Esteban Gonzaga, another of Freddie’s brothers; Tita Menchu Gonzaga, Esteban’s wife; Eddie, Ricky, and Claudio Gonzaga, Rio’s grown-up Spanish cousins; and Pucha Gonzaga, Rio’s cousin, who is more comfortable with her social status and clearer about her life goals.

Rio Gonzaga stands as the protagonist and an unreliable narrator. Her narrative, detached and analytical, is interspersed with flashbacks and blurs the lines between memory and imagination.