Ordered by the courts to allow her ex-husband to take their five-year-old son Andrew home for the weekend, young mother Gail (Park Overall) has her worst fears realized when both father and son completely disappear. Despite the insensitivity and outright bungling of the authorities, Gail never gives up hope that, someday, she and Andrew will be reunited. Finally, after five long and agonizing years, her former husband surrenders the boy and sends him home. But instead of the happy, carefree Andrew whom she remembers, Gail is confronted with a sullen, embittered ten-year-old, still smarting from half a lifetime of unspeakable abuse. Based on a true story, When Andrew Came Home (filmed under the title Taming Andrew) chronicles Gail's heroic efforts to "reach" her battered son and convince him that he is now in the arms of those who love him, and will never do him any harm. The made-for-cable film premiered October 30, 2000 on the Lifetime network.