In a version of modern-day Manila where ancient subterranean entities feed on human vice, sixteen-year-old Tala, a scavenger from the slums of Tondo, discovers that her city is literally built on a fault line of lost hope. When a clandestine group of billionaire developers-secretly puppets for the Taga-Ilalim (The Underworld Shadows)-begin a series of predatory land-grabs to trigger a catastrophic "Big One," Tala is thrust into the role of the "Star from the Earth."
Guided by the forgotten Guardians of the archipelago, she learns that her ability to "fix broken things" isn't just a talent for scrap metal-it is the power to mend the spiritual resonance of the city. As Manila teeters on the edge of tectonic collapse, Tala must lead a ragtag crew of street-smart friends in a high-stakes war against the Generals of Greed, Envy, and Despair. In a world where the shadows hide in plain sight, Tala discovers that the only force capable of sealing the breach isn't a weapon of light, but the unbreakable Chain of Kindness forged by the people she fights to protect.
