Pool employee Armando Diaz's bloodily battered corpse is found in Craig Seaborn's 5-star hotel Graciana's gardens. He was killed in the penthouse, where three wives had a 'husbands nor sex' weekend. Beth Jacobson admits she had sex with him, but when he called her too unattractive to get hard a fight ensued, so she struck him with a towel bar, thrice. He also had safe sex with Felicia Hardy, who claims she didn't realize he was badly wounded when passing out after hitting his head against the bed. Wolfe follows a third blood trail, to the staircase and more suspects. It must all be tied in. Meanwhile chief James Burton warns Horatio his team is under scrutiny, just now there are tensions about sticking up evidence kits, labor division and Wolfe's media ambitions, apparently paying off a TV reporter.

The defense attorney in Horatio's terror cell trial is murdered by a stray bullet, but the investigation reveals that his client was the real target. Meanwhile, Wolfe compromises the only evidence in a gang-related murder.