John Campitelli started searching for his birth mother when he was only 11 years old. Born in 1963 in Turin, Italy, he was adopted two years later by an American Catholic couple in New York. For years, he believed his birth parents were dead, although no one had ever given him any explanation about why he was given up for adoption.

In 1991, after years of research, travel and rudimentary but efficient investigations, Campitelli discovered a shocking truth: His birth mother was still alive and had never had any intention of giving him up for adoption.