Marilou, Eugene Domingo lives with her husband Jose, a barber, in a rural village under the Marcos dictatorship. When Jose Daniel Fernando dies in his sleep, Marilou contemplates leaving for Manila, but her friends and the parish priest, Father Arturo Eddie Garcia, urge her to stay and carry on his craft. Remembering that Jose taught her to cut hair, she resolves to take over the village barber chair, starting with Father Arturo’s hair, and her skill quickly earns her a local following.
As her reputation spreads, she is called to the town to cut the hair of Mayor Alfredo Bartolome. There she begins a cautious friendship with his wife Cecilia Iza Calzado, who endures physical abuse from her husband. The barber’s chair becomes a quiet stage for personal courage amid a climate of fear and conflict.
One night, her godson Edmond Nicco Manalo and his wounded companion Renan Jess Mendoza seek shelter at her home, revealing themselves to be New People’s Army rebels. Marilou reluctantly treats Renan and seeks out his sister, Rosa Sue Prado, a prostitute, upon his request. Grateful to see Renan again and to have Marilou’s help, Rosa convinces her clients to have their hair cut at Marilou’s shop, turning the barber’s trade into a lifeline for the rebels.
Marilou’s sympathy for the rebels hardens after Father Arturo is killed by soldiers following a false accusation from Mayor Bartolome that Arturo is a rebel. Cecilia’s confession from the shadows intensifies the sense that the regime can snuff out lives at will, and Marilou’s resolve to stand with those resisting the authorities deepens.
Renan is later killed in a botched ambush, and Edmond, wounded, is secretly transported to Marilou’s shop with Rosa’s help. The next day, Edmond is seen by Marilou’s customers as he escapes a military raid, and the community turns on her, accusing Marilou of rebel membership and ostracizing her in the wake of the incident.
Cecilia later asks Marilou to accompany her to a cliff above a river, where she confides her frustration at not being able to bear children and her impending separation from Bartolome, who has been unfaithful. After wishing aloud that she had met a brave person like Marilou earlier in life, Cecilia kisses her and leaps to her death, leaving Marilou in shock and grief.
Mayor Bartolome pressures Marilou to stay silent about Cecilia’s death and even asks her to cut Cecilia’s hair for the funeral, but Marilou, fed up with his cruelty and the regime’s arrogance, fatally slashes him with a razor. Fleeing to her shop, she cuts her hair short and goes into hiding, while her friends help her escape town by also cutting their hair short to confuse soldiers during a religious procession.
An epilogue, narrated by Marilou’s friend Susan Gladys Reyes, notes that Marilou was never seen again after Bartolome’s killing, with varying theories about her fate. The story closes with a stark turn: Marilou is shown joining the New People’s Army, taking the nom de guerre Luz in honor of Cecilia’s would-be child. The film also features Nora Aunor Nora Aunor in a cameo as an NPA Leader, underscoring the ongoing struggle and sacrifice at the heart of the tale.
