In Manila, a mute boy named Noland makes shimmering paper lanterns and sells them at a busy intersection near the slums where he lives with his mother. He has the help of an older boy named Elvis. Noland doesn't know Elvis well, only that he sells lots of lanterns and he always has money. Noland doesn't realize that Elvis' loud bravado covers up the deep sadness and shame he feels for having to prostitute himself to survive.

During a traffic jam one evening, a motorcycle rider shoots a journalist in his car and an American tourist is caught in the crossfire. Noland, with Elvis' help, takes the woman, Cate Burns, to his mother's hut to care for her. He sees her as an angel fallen from the sky. Their hut is filled with stars and angels, a small bit of heaven within this tract of poverty. But Noland's mother fears the woman will only bring bad luck.

The media jump on the story of a kidnapped American and the dead journalist, speculating about their connection and the plot behind it: either global terrorism or a religious cult. American consul representatives and the Philippine police vow to work shoulder-to-shoulder to find her.

Merlinda Bobis has written a story illustrating the number of responses and reactions a single event can trigger. Some officials wish to find the truth; others know the truth and don't care; and still others just don't care. She contrasts the poor and the wealthy separated by so little as an intersection geographically, but so much more when it comes to influence and power. Readers might wonder how much of Bobis' story mirrors reality as it pertains to media and politicians and the poor and wealthy populations. She breaks the tale down into short chapters that keep the action jumping from viewpoint to viewpoint and image to image. The reader has to pay attention to keep track of who's who and who's doing what, similar to watching a movie where the images move so quickly that you might miss something if you blink. THE SOLEMN LANTERN MAKER is a thought-provoking tale that will prick at the reader's mind long after the last page is turned.