Grissom and Warrick take the case of a young man who is found naked in the desert without an obvious cause of death. Sara gets to find out why the body of a woman who was buried last week is in a dumpster. Catherine and Nick investigate the killing of a school's dean by the school's founder.

Catherine violates department protocol when she takes the case of a rape accusation against her ex-husband. Warrick and Sara search for the missing bullet that will either exonerate or indict a cop for murder. Grissom and Nick investigate when a female skeleton is found under a house buried in cement.

Royce Harmon was murdered 3 months ago in a scene staged to look like a suicide. Now another murder has taken place. Whoever the killer is he has a thorough knowledge of forensics, he purposefully has left evidence, and has baffled Grissom and his team. Warrick and Nick investigate the case of a man who went over a cliff in his car and is now unconscious.

A woman is abducted from a mall parking garage. She's raped, beaten, shot and left for dead. Sara collects evidence from her and grows attached to her. Nick and Grissom analyze the crime scene. Catherine and Warrick are given boxes of evidence from a shooting that goes to trial in four days. The CSI who had the case has quit and they have to prove what happened. To make Catherine's life more complicated, Eddie has taken out a second mortgage without her knowledge.