THE heart of grief lies at the core of Insurrecto, Gina Apostol's novel about the Balangiga massacre in 1901 and its multi-layered echoes down history. Chiara is the daughter of Ludo Brasi, an American filmmaker who wanted to make a film about the massacre. The film was unfinished, and Ludo later kills himself.

Chiara writes a script about the massacre, and the job of vetting the script falls on the lap of Mimi Magsalin, who corrects the 'white savior' point of view of Chiara. Magsalin has lived in New York for almost two decades and has not gone home; she also carries a story of loss.