In a small Minnesota town, the annual beauty pageant is being covered by a TV crew. Former winner Gladys Leeman wants to make sure her daughter follows in her footsteps; explosions, falling lights, and trailer fires prove that. As the Leemans are the richest family in town, the police are pretty relaxed about it all. Despite everything, main rival (but sweet) Amber Atkins won't give up without a fight.

Set after the Second World War, Timothy, an eight year old boy, befriends an abandoned, broken light bulb. Timothy's belief in the light bulb is so strong, that when his town suffers a blackout from a winter storm, the light bulb shines and lights the way.