When a man dressed as Santa Claus blows himself up during a botched bank robbery, Brennan and Booth work to identify the bomber and determine his motives. Meanwhile, Brennan makes plans to spend Christmas in El Salvador, but her father convinces her to spend the holidays with him and Margaret Whitesell, a newly discovered distant relative.

When Booth and Brennan are called to investigate decomposed remains found at the Jersey Shore, the team IDs the victim as Richie “The V” Genaro, a 23-year-old who partied the night before at a popular nightclub. Booth and Brennan question Genaro’s peers and the club bouncer, and Brennan surprisingly proves her pop culture savvy and anthropological expertise after watching what she believes to be a documentary on the inhabitants of the Jersey Shore, but was in actuality a reality show set there. Meanwhile, at the lab, the team grows fond of Booth’s girlfriend, Hannah, and Angela tries to keep her pregnancy a secret.

An event for a candymaker (Wayne Knight) turns bitter when human remains are discovered in the world's largest chocolate bar; Cam struggles with her daughter's decision to attend a college that fails to meet her high standards.

The remains of a crime scene cleanup expert are found sealed in a mysterious pod that washed up on a beach. Meanwhile, Angela and Hodgins have reason to believe that Cam has a secret lover.

The Jeffersonian team investigates the death of Symchay Conteh, a young man whose remains were found in a barrel at a hazardous waste disposal facility. They discover that the victim was an immigrant from Sierra Leone working numerous part-time jobs in order to make ends meet. Meanwhile, as the team gets deeper into the investigation, Cam and Arastoo find it even more difficult to keep their relationship a secret and Brennan and Booth try to decide on a vacation destination.

The team is called in after the remains of a psychology professor are discovered.