An ice hockey player dies during a game.

Grissom and Sidle investigate the death of someone who was buried in a shallow grave in a park and covered in lye. The autopsy reveals that the victim was struck by a car in the last 72 hours and bled to death. There was no blood at the grave site, however. The accident is traced to a young lawyer who has just started as an associate with a major law firm. Stokes looks into the death of Stacy Warner who is found in the middle of the desert but is determined to have drowned. She was a an extreme sports enthusiast out on a challenging trek but she seemed ill-prepared for the route she took.

Las Vegas's retired police commissioner Duke Rittle was tortured to death after an 'exclusive' party. The ex-con who drove him is found murdered in the car's trunk, but not the last on Grissom's trail. Rittle's young daughter Sasha is missing and the suspect, a socialite chameleon, is seen on a private flight to Miami. Grissom sends Catherine there. Luckily Lieutenant Horatio Caine of the Miami CSI team takes brilliant charge, realizing it's the MO of a Florida serial killer of socialite couples, who spared the girl but eliminated all other witnesses and clearly isn't done yet, even sets a trap for the police.

A world-famous poker champion drops dead in the middle of a game. He appears to have had a heart attack. Outside of the city, Nick and Catherine investigate the death of a young street racer.

The owners of a house placed on sale are found dead, their bodies discovered by two interested buyers. Sara is working solo on the death of a cheerleader at a high school.

A man driving with a wooden stake in his head dies in front of a casino.

An elderly lady drives her car recklessly into a café for no apparent reason. Meanwhile, a wife dies of carbon monoxide poisoning while her husband does not even though he was sleeping right next to her.

When a private jet lands after a party, they find the trainer Lori Hutchins dead apparently stomped by the horse in the cargo bay. Grissom, Catherine, Nick and Capt. Brass investigate the case. The horse is in quarantine and the veterinarian Dr. Stevens help Catherine to collect material from the animal. They interview the owner of the jet, guests and crew and find two tranquilizers dart in the cargo bay. When the horse mysterious die, Dr. Robbins make the autopsy and they learn what happened in the flight. Meanwhile, Sara, Warrick and Det. Lockwood investigate the suicide of a teenager in the middle of the desert. When they find a second body dead in the same circumstances, they believe it was a kind of "Romeu and Juliet" pact of the younger. Then they identify the couple, Toby Wellstone and Jill Frommer, and interview her mother trying to understand why they died in a distant place and separated from each other.

A team of robbers heist the First Monument Bank and Detective Cyrus Lockwood is shot and murdered. The team investigate the case and find that the thieves wanted a specific safety deposit box in the vault. Meanwhile the driver of the getaway van is found dead in the vehicle, Larry Whiting. He was a former valet of the Rampart Casino, owned by Sam Braun. When they find the name of the owner of the stolen box, Benny Murdock, an Catherine recognizes the name.