Columbus Day, 1965: While other kids enjoyed their day off, seven-year-old Mitch was driven to a juvenile center—by his own mother.

What began as an exciting new chapter—moving to a new home in Howard Beach, Queens—soon turned into a nightmare. In a haunting narrative set against a backdrop of cruelty and despair, a mother’s twisted plan alters the course of her young son’s life forever. Driven by her own need to escape her burdens, she devises a disturbing scheme: to have her son institutionalized. Meanwhile, his father, well aware of her deteriorating mental state, chooses the path of passivity, allowing her heartless plan to succeed.

This is not only a story of a mother’s betrayal but also a powerful testament to a child’s extraordinary resilience. Despite the horrors within the walls of the institution, he refuses to succumb to despair. He finds the strength to overcome the chaos and subsequently survive.