DiNozzo is partnered with his girlfriend ATF Special Agent Zoé Keates after evidence reveals that the murder weapon in an NCIS case was originally purchased for the controversial ATF sting operation “Operation Fast and Furious.” Also, Anthony DiNozzo Sr. returns to town for a special dinner to meet his son’s girlfriend.
While the NCIS team investigates the cause of a hit and run accident that resulted in the death of a Petty Officer, Gibbs searches for a way to clear a Navy Hospital Corpsman, who has served two medical tours in Afghanistan, after she's indicted for illegally providing medical aid to the victims of the crash, even though the surviving victims swear by her life-saving techniques.
After investigating the murder of a retired Master Sergeant, the NCIS team uncovers a fraudulent charity that preys on those searching for missing military personnel. Meanwhile, Bishop agonizes over the results of her probation evaluation, and Tony contemplates adopting a stray cat that followed him home.
During a joint Coast Guard and NCIS training exercise at sea, Gibbs and CGIS Agent Borin spot a deceased man overboard, who is discovered to be a missing crew member from a ship 60 nautical miles away. Upon boarding the ship for questioning, Gibbs finds himself on a vessel that has been commandeered by pirates.
The Secretary of the Navy assigns the NCIS team to a joint terrorism task force after a Naval research scientist is murdered and the lead suspect is wanted by the Russian government. In order to get a jump on the case, Gibbs has DiNozzo run interference with the leader of the task force, FBI Agent Leia Pendergast.
Gibbs and McGee travel to Russia to safely escort home an NCIS computer engineer connected to classified intel, but their mission is compromised and they are forced to go off the grid while hunted by a Russian mercenary group. Meanwhile, the team in D.C. frantically uses every asset and inter-agency contact they have in an attempt to locate their missing team members.