Someone shoots and kills the executive officer (XO) of a Naval vessel, a commander, in his own stateroom; Gibbs and company investigate. However, a shrink (a persistent and presumptuous one) arrives to conduct mandatory psychologic evaluations for all members of the gang, and she accompanies them aboard the ship. Ziva recognizes the spent brass as Russian. Word of the murder spreads fast, for seven international journalists are aboard as guests; one reporter makes a confession and reveals a potential powder keg. The team continue, and they eventually find the solution. Meanwhile, the shrink also continues, eliciting a number of flashbacks, mostly related to Kate Todd, a former member and special agent. Eventually Tony and Gibbs realize who the shrink is, then she submits her report to the director.

Tony, during his task for the SecNav, took fire and sustained a concussion, and he acquired the bloody badge of some other NCIS agent; however, he has no memory of his activities. Gibbs and a shrink help Tony to begin to regain his memory.

When two burglars enter a home in Arlington, Virginia, in the burbs of Washington, DC, they find the hanged body of a man; the victim proves to be that of a psychologist (with a PhD degree), who was also a Naval Reservist on active duty, and who held a high-level security clearance for his work, which included consulting with the US Department of Defense (DoD) on a psy-ops program; while Gibbs and company investigate, they soon encounter Dr. Rachel Cranston, who was a colleague of the victim, and with whom they've dealt before. Another mind-gamer shows up, and Abby finds a mind game. McGee plays with some electronic toys, and the other members of the gang pursuit other leads; Gibbs orders the team to concentrate on paper, and he kills a bug. Despite much interference and misinformation, the gang solve the puzzle and bust the people responsible. A payroll clerk discovers a number of mistakes, and Gibbs receives an interesting phone call at 04:00.

In an effort to find the terrorist Parsa, Gibbs and the NCIS team track down one of his cohorts using evidence from the drone attack. Meanwhile, an emotionally shaken McGee struggles with the ramifications of the incident.