Plot: In March, 1928 in Los Angeles, California, Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) lives with her beloved son Walter (Gattlin Griffith) in Lincoln Heights. When she is assigned to work overtime on Saturday at Pacific Telephone and Telegraph as supervisor, she promises Walter she will return at 4 p.m. to watch the latest Charlie Chaplin movie at the movie theater with him. However, she arrives home late and does not find her son. After seeking out the boy in the neighborhood, she reports the missing child to the Police, but the Police Officer tells her that she should wait twenty-four hours to register the complaint. Five months later, Captain J.J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) communicates to Mrs. Collins that her son had been found in DeKalb, Illinois, and is heading back home by train to be reunited with her. In the train station, Christine does not recognize the boy as being Walter, but Captain Jones advises her that his appearance has changed during the five months. Soon, she confirms that the boy is not her son, but the corrupt L.A.P.D. does not accept her arguments. When Mrs. Collins is approached by St. Paul Presbyterian Church Pastor Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), who daily broadcasts protests exposing corruption in the Police force, she decides to disclose to the press the evidence she has about the changeling. However, the abusive Captain Jones sends Christine to an asylum to intimidate her. Meanwhile, the efficient Detective Lester Ybarra (Michael Kelly) is assigned to arrest and deport an illegal Canadian boy who was hidden on a ranch in Wineville. He captures the boy, who discloses hideous crimes committed by his compatriot Gordon Stewart Northcott (Jason Butler Harner).
Alternative Plot: In 1928 Los Angeles, single mother Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) arrives home to find her son, Walter, gone. Five months later her prayers are answered when Walter is found in Illinois. But to Christine's horror, the boy who steps off the train is not her son. Authorities vehemently dispute Christine's claim, and her one ally is a clergyman (John Malkovich) who sees the case as his chance to expose corruption in the Los Angeles Police Department and government.
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