Grissom, Sofia and Greg investigate a gang shooting with two victims. Out of the blue, Greg finds the body of a young boy dumped in a trash bin. Sara and David Phillips join the investigation. Dr. Robbins notes in the autopsy that the boy was around five years old, was abused with several recent fractures and died of starvation. A further investigation identifies the boy as Devon Malton and Sara and Capt. Brass visit the foster home where he lived with Lorna Tenney. Meanwhile, Catherine, Nick, Warrick and Det. Louis Vartann investigate the case of the prisoner Samuel Mendez that was beaten up in a riot in a cell and now is brain dead. Warrick sees a gun in the cell that was under Samuels body. Lt. Arthur Chen that is the responsible for the prisoners has an argument with Warrick when he comments about a sloppy police search and abuse of force. Soon they learn that Samuel Mendez is not the wanted criminal but an innocent namesake.

A man is observing the sky with a telescope when, out of the blue, he is burned by a blaze. Grissom and Sara arrive to investigate the scene when Grissom finds a woman still live but completely burned. They believe it was arson and Sara uses the fingerprint in a broken bottle of cheap vodka to identify the truck driver Patrick Bromley. Meanwhile, Catherine, Warrick, Nick and Capt. Brass investigate the murder of the Stewart family, where the parents were shot and their five-year-old daughter Dani drowned in the swimming pull. Nick believes in the murder-suicide theory while processing the evidences. When they learn that the DNA in both cases belongs to the burned woman, they realize that the cases are the same.

A psychic is murdered in her own shop after predicting her own death.

Mrs. Cutler is found dead, shot through the mouth, in her own home, which shows no signs of forced entry or disturbances. Her husband, Mr. William Cutler, is missing, only to be found later, alive, at his office where all of his co-workers were shot dead. He left the bloody scene with only a minor injury. All of this quickly becomes a hostage situation when Mr. Cutler, after shooting a security at a casino, holds a woman hostage.

While investigating a gang-related shooting in an otherwise quiet suburban neighborhood, Raymond and Riley are held hostage.

A young Hollywood actress is killed in what appears to be a simple drunk driving collision, but the team soon suspects that there is more to the case than meets the eye, and a shootout in the crime lab may confirm their suspicions.

D.B. turns to a "blood whisperer" from his past to help solve a crime involving a gunshot victim who has lost his short-term memory.