Angelina Jolie and Madonna have made headlines by adopting African children, but beyond the high-profile celebrity attention lies a serious problem. Carol Foster, a mother of seven adopted children, organizes a mission to Ethiopia to realize the orphan crisis plaguing the country. In doing so, she hopes to create a children's home in the country, for the orphanages are in a terrible state. Alongside Carol is her daughter Meron, who was adopted from Ethiopia seven years prior. Meron's return to Ethiopia allows her to reconnect with her past, and unite her two families. Also accompanying Carol is a gay couple and a woman who recently lost her adopted child. Their lives are drastically altered by the children, as they travel from orphanage to orphanage. The film follows these four into the capital city of Addis Ababa, and back to the countryside of Vermont and examines questions of what creates family, what defines heritage, and what we can do to make a difference.