'The Empire Lights' is the story of Todd Stanton and Margot Goetz. Todd Stanton travels to Josuha Tree, California to hunt for the Empire Lights, a mysterious UFO phenomenon captured on film by his wife. After five summers he has become cynical about the project and at the moment he is about to quit he meets Margot, the manager of the dusty motel where he has been staying.As a way to keep him around, she pretends to have seen the lights, and leads him on a wild goose chase to find them again. Along the way a bond develops between them and a romance blossoms.