Ten-year-old Alex Griffin has plenty of secrets. At night, from his third-floor bedroom in a drafty Victorian mansion, Alex surveys the world and dreams about how life would be if he weren't taking care of his single, alcoholic mom, Allegra Bellini. He confides his secrets to his beat-up toy duck, Dudley.

Dudley answers him.

"Excited Light" is a tale of magic and second chances. Young Alex, guided by Dudley and the mysterious entities who visit him, endures his mother's drinking, waiting for a time when she can hear her own spiritual guides.

Impulsive Allegra rushes into a...