On the small table of a tiny bar along the SP8, suburbs of Rome, at closing time, the owner finds a letter...

“I am tired! They've been chasing me for days, I no longer know where to go, what to do. Aimlessly, I wander the deserted streets and feel bad for having thrown my life away. The regret and remorse I have accumulated these past two years has led me to make an extreme decision. I do not deserve sympathy, I do not deserve another chance.

By the time this letter is found, I will be gone. Mom, dad... forgive me if you can.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Asha”

Rome, 11:05 a.m., police station.

«Do you remember in late March, when I went to Prato, to that party convention?»

«Don't tell me...»

«They made me drink...»

«Ettore!»

«Let me finish. When I left, I could hardly drive. I noticed her at the last moment, I was about to run her over.»

«Her... the girl?»

«I guess. I don't know. My memories are fuzzy.»

«In this case, you cannot sustain an interrogation.»

Asha, last of three children, parents of Albanian origin who moved to Italy more than two decades ago. Lower class, her mother Nilde cleans offices and stores, while Cataldo, the father, works in a factory.

Her parents have tried to give their children everything they could, but most of their salaries are used for rent - they live in a three-room apartment in Turin's historic center - and to pay the bills. Thus little or nothing remains. Theirs is a modest house, with dated furniture that is falling apart. 

Inevitable not to think about what she attempted a few days earlier. As she stares motionless at the rippling water, she thinks:

What a fool I am. Deborah is right. As a child I dreamed of falling in love with a handsome rich boy, having children, living many happy moments. How stupid of me to wish for something I could not have. Like not thinking that my family wouldn't notice the changes, the clothes I bought, the cell phone and the money I handled.

Again, memories of her old life resurface; she thinks back to when she decided to run away, change city, live by her wits, realizing how much time has passed. A year away from her loved ones, not knowing if her parents, her siblings, were okay. Realizing once again that she has thrown her life away, she thinks about try to commit suicide again.

«But they never stopped you, checked. Where did you live?»

«No. We found out that there were a lot of young girls in our same situation, we met some of them through the Internet. We helped each other. I was afraid my parents would keep looking for me, so I changed my hair color and haircut, hid a beauty mark on my eyebrow, my friend got me a fake ID, and that was it.»

«Doctor, come right away. Asha is not well, she's in danger of losing the baby!»

Chiani, taken aback, replies that he doesn't know what he is talking about.

«You asshole, who am I talking about? The girl you got pregnant, and because of you she might die, along with your child. But if anything happens to her, I swear you'll regret it.»

Meanwhile, the doctor arrives. And as they give her first aid, he asks to which hospital they are taking her, telling Chiani.

«And make sure you hurry, daddy!»

Chiani breaks out in a cold sweat, and without thinking of warning Nesi or the boys, leaves everything and runs to the hospital.

«As for the other investigation, I agree about the separation of the two branches, but be careful. They could be linked. Let me explain. These kids are selling themselves for some cash, a charge card... a cell phone, an iPod, a designer item of clothing at most. If there is an organization dedicated to child exploitation, they could be a problem for them. Let's face it: let's say that I, in my position, am looking for minors, it's not like I would go looking for them on the street, being able to pay. For sexual intercourse with a minor, there are depraved people who are willing to pay absurd amounts of money, depending on the services required, starting from a minimum of five hundred euros, and even going up to thousands of euros. So I'm afraid these kids are in danger. Pay attention to the sentence in which Giada says she is tired because she is being chased. Chased by whom, if not from these criminals? And if they were able to trace her, then everyone else is in danger too. I guarantee you that a simple worker or clerk is not able to pay certain amounts of money for a sex encounter unless he is forced to do so, but if there is an alternative... Two years ago we did an in-depth screening of the phenomenon, and we could gather that child pornography is one of the most profitable businesses. We published the results of the research in several specialized magazines and sites.»

The Mekong Boys

June 2000.

Lee Dong, one of the richest men in Southeast Asia, is kidnapped by a criminal organization, dedicated to child trafficking and specialized in kidnapping. They hold him captive along the banks of the Mekong River, and he remains in their hands for weeks.

He helplessly witnesses the buying and selling of dozens of children, surrendered for a few dollars by their families, treated as slaves and sold to unscrupulous pedophiles. 

Taking advantage of one of the many relocations the gang makes periodically, he escapes, aided by one of the girls held in slavery, named Su Ning. He takes her with him.

Chased by the criminals along the banks of the Mekong River, he manages to find a boat and, convinced that he has managed to save himself, rejoices. Only afterwards does he notice that Su Ning, to shield him, has been mortally wounded. Before she dies in his arms, he vows to avenge her.

Lee Dong, having returned home safely, keeps his oath. He finds out all about the criminal organization and, hiring a group of mercenaries, returns to the forest where they are hiding. He has them all killed, except one, who will give a message to the organization's leader: “This is the end you will meet if you dare set foot here again!”

He frees about thirty children, all victims of sexual abuse, between the ages of five and thirteen. He takes them back to their families, but almost all of them are no longer wanted from their parents. Because of the abuse they suffered, they could no longer be sold, so they were just a burden to them.

Dong decides to take care of them. He gives them a home, makes them study. He gives them a new life.

2011. The boys are now grown up.

The older ones are in college, the others are studying.

Suddenly, the criminal organization, which is now led by De Leo, returns to kidnap innocent children. Lee Dong is killed, as a warning not to meddle in their affairs.

But this triggers the revenge of his godchildren. 

Dong leaves part of his inheritance to the foundation that had been taking care of the boys. 

They decide to use it to avenge their benefactor. 

Thus the Mekong Boys are born. Among the boys rescued by Dong are those who drop out of school to begin a military style training, and those – attending college – who get involved by planning and searching for criminals. But they are also joined by many others who, because of the violence they suffered as children, not wanted by their families, are forced to live in the ghettos of the big cities, sleeping on the streets, living off scraps, begging, or having to prostitute themselves.

After a year, their battle begins. 

They succeed in driving the organization out of their land again, but this does not satisfy them.

They want revenge. They want justice. 

They dream about children no longer suffering what they had to suffer.

But they know that human justice will not be able to stop them, so they decide to do it themselves.

In their own way!