While working on an assignment, Gibbs is seriously injured in an explosion, and taken to a hospital, where he recalls his painful past, which he has always hidden from others. The rest of the team must proceed with the investigation and put their feelings towards Gibbs's injury aside. Tony is left in charge, which may cause a bit of trouble.

The NCIS team must work on an assignment against a terrorist group without Gibbs, who is still recovering from the explosion. Gibbs has to fight with memory loss, while he's visited by his mentor and his former boss. His help is needed, expecially when the team discovers that Gibbs is the only person who has informations about the terrorists' plans, so he needs to retrieve his memory before the terrorists attack.