American lawyer Justine Cowan grew up in a wealthy neighbourhood of San Francisco; her childhood was full of privilege, with music lessons and horse riding. It was a lifestyle that seemed fitting for Justine's mother Eileen. She was a highly accomplished English woman who'd always spoken about going to boarding school and studying at London's Royal Academy of Music. But after her death, Justine found out that her mother wasn't who she'd claimed to be.

Justine's written a book about what happened called The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames.

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: Fiona Woods

Picture: A young Dorothy Soames in May 1941
Credit: Felix Man/Hulton Archive/Getty Images