Mark, a retired, divorced professor, looking for a young female travel companion, falls in love with one of his research subjects, Annalyn, and sets out to educate her and help her poor family in the rural Philippines. But her education changes her to reject Mark's love and exploit him. Despite helping other similar girls, he is left with no girlfriend. Finally, he embarks on helping yet another girl. Through these engagements he realizes that these girls cannot see themselves as perhaps others do, nor the possibility of a better life; and the only way they can move forward to that is with outside help, of sorts. But in order to benefit from such patronage they need to see themselves as something other... As Mark travels the country with different girls their adventures depict and remark on various aspects of Philippine culture, society and life. Mark's search for love shows that desire is sad, sometimes cruel, and girls beguiling.