It's 1997 and New York City is in a state of intense flux when documentary filmmaker Erik Rothman (Thure Lindhardt) first meets Paul Lucy (Zachary Booth), a handsome but closeted lawyer in the publishing field. What begins as a highly charged first encounter soon becomes something much more, and a relationship quickly develops. As the two men start building a home and life together, each continues to privately battle their own compulsions and addictions. A film about sex, friendship, intimacy and most of all, love, Keep the Lights On takes an honest look at the nature of relationships in our times.

Fifteen years after Clear Lake, WI was evacuated and quarantined by the government, four young adults return to the small town in search of clues about their mysterious past. Back in 1994, a mysterious virus appeared in Clear Lake. As panic spread, a local priest (Michael Madsen) convinced a small group of high school students that the locals were being punished by God, and that the day of retribution had finally arrived. It was their job, claimed the priest, to apprehend the worst sinners, and ensure that they suffered for their transgressions. When government health officials arrived to investigate, they were shocked to discover that 13 of the locals had vanished without a trace, and the majority of the townspeople had abandoned their homes for fear of getting infected. For the following 15 years, the town sat eerily still and completely unoccupied. Now, a group of documentary filmmakers have convinced the kids who previously took part in the kidnappings to return to Clear Lake...

At a July 4 barbecue, gramps tells the kids the story of Michael Malone, a documentary filmmaker and Michael Moore look-alike who hates America and wants to abolish July 4th. He refuses to celebrate with his nephew Josh, who's shipping out soon to the Middle East. That night, Michel has a vision of his hero, JFK, who predicts that three ghosts will visit Michael. Sure enough, General Patton, George Washington, and country music star Trace Adkins visit Michael show him the fruits of patriotism, just wars, and pacifism. Meanwhile, Arab terrorists want Malone to help them with a propaganda film. Is he the next Leni Riefenstahl or will he see the light?