Henry Louis Gates, Jr. reveals the immigrant roots of actors Tony Shalhoub and Christopher Meloni, introducing ancestors who confronted inconceivable challenges almost entirely alone. From an abandoned infant in a small Italian village to a devastating plague in Lebanon, long-forgotten records reveal individuals who came from nothing and built a better life in America.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. uncovers the remarkable backgrounds of country music icons Clint Black and Rosanne Cash, traveling generations into the past to trace lineages from the shores of Sicily to the American South. With Gates' guidance, guests reimagine family stories and encounter surprising ancestors they never knew they had, revealing the diverse origins of a quintessentially American art form.