The pieces of a dismembered body are found lying in a purple pool of water, except the head is missing. The team finds that the body belongs to Jared Addison, a science fiction writer who had several mental problems. With Sweets' help, several suspects are hunted down, however the team has trouble finding enough evidence with the victim's head still missing.

When the smashed remains of a well known artist are found in an impounded junkyard car, Booth and Brennan are on the case to find out if foul play is to blame for his death. With suspects ranging from the artist’s rival to his own assistant, the team must race

against the clock to find evidence of murder before the car is relinquished and put on exhibit as the sculptor’s ultimate display of self-sacrifice for the sake of his art.

Booth’s Brother Jared Booth and Brennan investigate the scene where a body was uncovered during a botched practice police raid. The team identifies the body as a struggling inventor’s father who had recently reunited with his son. But when a second body surfaces, the team is led on a trail of deception to find out who was the actual con-man in the inventor’s life. Clark Edison returns to the lab, and he and Hodgins work on piecing together blueprints from one of the inventor’s potentially valuable inventions.

Meanwhile, Brennan likes Booth's brother and goes out on a date with him. She learns a thing or too about Booth's past while out on the date.

While en route to China to identify prehistoric anthropological remains, Booth and Brennan are called upon to solve a murder in midair when the flight attendant discovers a fully cooked human body in the plane's microwave.

Brennan's father Max lands a teaching position at the Jeffersonian. When he ends up helping out with the murder case at hand, Brennan is noticeably bothered by his sudden presence in her professional life.