

On the evening of 15 October 2009, Stefano Cucchi, a young building surveyor, is brought to Regina Coeli prison in Rome after being found in possession of some packs of hashish, 2 grams of cocaine and a pill of a medicine for epilepsy. During precautionary custody, Cucchi is beaten up by police officers, despite he continues to deny that he has been treated so cruelly. Despite Stefano's requests to choose his own lawyer, he is assigned a public defender, and the judge establishes that Stefano must remain in custody in Regina Coeli. Despite several efforts, Stefano's parents, Giovanni and Rita, and sister Ilaria are never allowed to visit him. On 22 October, Stefano dies due to his many injuries. This brings his family, led by his sister Ilaria, to start a battle for the truth and to try to find the people responsible for Stefano's death, once they realized, looking at his corpse in the morgue, that he has been savagely beaten.