Lightning Bug is a coming-of-age drama film about a young boy named Green Graves (Bret Harrison) who feels trapped in his small Alabama town and dreams of working in Hollywood as a special-effects makeup artist. Green's life is complicated by a drunken stepfather, religious zealots, and a romance with Angevin Duvet (Laura Prepon), a Goth girl with a troubled past. As Green navigates his personal demons, he also finds solace in the town's quirky residents and a local haunted house job that could be his ticket to Hollywood.