The Power Above Us All

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A novel of ordinary decent criminals and extraordinarily brutal cops weaving together and colliding inside the giant slum of ‘Dreamland’, within the megalopolis of Metro Manila, Philippines.

Dreamland’s entrance may smell of soap from the nearby detergent factory, but within the sprawling maze of thousands squeezed into tenements and shanties, there’s only the reek of corruption, crime, and cockroaches—the insect and human kind.

Dodong’s cushy life as a low-level criminal takes a violent turn when his girlfriend Che, a beautiful bar girl, turns up dead. The police officers have tagged Dodong as the primary suspect and he decides to scrub any evidence he and Che were ever lovers to survive.

With the help of his best friend Buldan, Dodong endeavors to investigate who framed him. As they try to elude the villainous police officer Elmer, a manhunt for the serial killer of gay men proceeds with startling incompetence.

This manhunt is also connected, among other things, to part-time mortician Butsok’s increasing purchases of oil and why his sister’s a cripple.

These seemingly disparate stories will unlock the mystery of Che’s death and Dodong’s suffering. As the cordon tightens around them, Dodong and Buldan move towards a furious denouement, encountering unlikely allies and enemies, stumbling on foul truths in their world drenched in perpetual violence and poverty.

When all paths unforgiving are found, the friends will wish they’d never uncovered the power above that rules all and spares none.