Joey, a resident in a Manila slum, is a GI baby. He doesn’t know his American father. His mother, an ex-prostitute in Olongapo City (the American Military Base), is forcing the 17 year-old boy to capitalize on his good looks and bluntly tells him to marry a rich girl so that both mother and son will have a comfortable life - an idea he detests - and becomes the object of conflict between them. Joey is in love with Lory, a pretty kind girl who lives next door, but does not have the courage to tell her. He does odd jobs until he graduates from high school. He aches to get ahead, emancipate his mother, himself and the girl he loves, away from the slum, from poverty. But, university is an expensive proposition. Desperate, he finally succumbs to what his mother has been goading him to do: use his good looks to whoever is willing to pay. It turns out that it is not only the women who are willing patrons. There are rich dirty old men as well who are more than willing to pay him for a few moments of sexual satisfaction. However, working as a male prostitute is not a piece of cake. Many weirdos abound in this business: sociopaths, psychopaths, masochists, and the outright sadists. It dawns on him that his situation now is much more disillusioning than the slum that he abhors. He turns his back on the job that took away his dignity. The slum is far from ideal, but with his youth, his strength and determination, there is hope somewhere for him, for his mother, and for the girl he loves.