In Manila, pre-WW II, two spinster sisters, Candida and Paula, are gifted with a bewildering portrait by their father, Don Lorenzo, a renowned but recluse painter. The sisters reject the attention the portrait receives until sly vaudeville piano player Tony tells he knows an American who is willing to buy it for a high price. Tired of being poor, Candida schemes to sell the portrait with naive Paula as bait. The musical is based on Nick Joaquin’s play A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino.