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A disciplined 1st Lt. Jamal Razul, a Muslim police officer stationed in Mindanao, is unexpectedly summoned to Manila to infiltrate a sprawling criminal syndicate that stretches its reach into every corner of the city. He disguises his true identity and moves into a seedy apartment block controlled by the syndicate, relying on the wary support of a few fellow officers who secretly misidentify him as a wanted killer. The quiet tension of his hidden life is reinforced when his landlord, Dess, becomes intrigued by him after she reads his copy of the Koran and witnesses him stand up to syndicate thugs who routinely prey on her and her neighbors.

As Jamal quietly observes the syndicate’s routines, he begins a dangerous stakeout of Frankie’s henchmen. A brutal exchange leaves him wounded, and he is forced to flee with the help of two resourceful boys, Kikoy and Buknoy, who smuggle him away in their cart. Dess, drawn by a sense of justice and a growing trust in Jamal, helps Frankie recover from the raid and brings him into the warmth of the boys’ household, where he begins to form uneasy bonds with everyone there. Yet Jamal’s cover starts to crumble when he wipes out a gang that pretends to be soldiers during a raid on Dess’s apartment, revealing himself to the criminals and signaling that his mission has moved from undercover work to a dangerous game of capture or be captured.

With his true identity exposed, Jamal is ordered to return home by Colonel Castro. He leaves Manila but survives an ambush staged by Frankie’s men, only to be devastated when Kikoy and Buknoy are killed in the crossfire. He seeks solace at their graves and vows payback, a vow that Dess helps him carry as she offers quiet strength. The moment of reckoning arrives as Jamal goes rogue, turning the tables on the syndicate by systematically neutralizing its foot soldiers and forcing Frankie to reveal the headquarters where the syndicate operates. Alarmed by the mounting deaths, Jimmy, the syndicate’s leader, panics and berates Captain Rios, who in turn kills Jimmy and seizes control of the organization.

When Jamal reaches the syndicate’s HQ, he discovers Rios at the helm, but Frankie’s escape triggers a rapid chain of events. A furious shootout erupts, and Jamal kills a string of syndicate members as well as corrupt police who serve Rios. Frankie dies in a dramatic moment when a grenade intended to end him is prematurely detonated by Jamal. Rios attempts to flee but is crippled when his car is blown apart and he is forced to confront Jamal. The final confrontation takes place in an alley where Jamal offers Rios a chance to shoot back, only for Rios to launch an Islamophobic tirade as he reaches for his gun. Jamal responds with decisive action, ending Rios’s threat as the dawn light spills over the alley.

In the aftermath, Jamal and Dess share a moment of quiet gravity by a place of worship, with the film closing on Jamal kneeling in prayer at a mosque. The story tracks a man torn between duty and conscience, under the weight of a city’s corruption and the personal losses that reshape his sense of justice. It is a careful study of courage in the face of violence, loyalty that tests him at every turn, and the quiet resilience of a community that refuses to be erased by crime.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:27