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.

The body of a pregnant 16-year-old athlete found buried in a mound of salt in a city de-icing truck leads Booth and Brennan to the discovery that many of her teammates are pregnant or have babies after a pregnancy pact.

Booth and Brennan are called when an image of the Virgin Mary is found in a bale of compressed cardboard.

Brennan and Booth are called to investigate what appears to be charred human remains on an electrical fence. The mysterious corpse is later determined to be a mummified Egyptian royal on loan to the Jeffersonian. The anthropological mystery has Brennan in a tizzy, and when the Jeffersonian curator prepping the mummy for exhibition is murdered, the team suspects foul play. Brennan’s investigation of the curator sheds new light on the life of the Egyptian royal, turning their case into one of historic proportions. Meanwhile, Brennan goes on a date with Booth’s supervisor and former intern, and Sweets’ girlfriend Daisy Wick (guest star Gallo) returns to the Jeffersonian.

When a man dressed as Santa Claus blows himself up during a botched bank robbery, Brennan and Booth work to identify the bomber and determine his motives. Meanwhile, Brennan makes plans to spend Christmas in El Salvador, but her father convinces her to spend the holidays with him and Margaret Whitesell, a newly discovered distant relative.

When a subway train is thrown off the track by 60,000 gallons of flood water, a partially skeletonized body emerges out of the overflow. While Dr. Sweets, a passenger on the derailed train, copes with post traumatic stress, the rest of the team and intern Daisy Wick get to work on identifying the victim as Martin Aragon, a professional ghost writer caught up in a deadly love triangle. Meanwhile, Brennan releases her second book to great success, but has to accommodate a nosy reporter, and Sweets' near-death experience leads him to make a drastic decision.

The past and present collide when human remains from a 150-year-old slave ship, the Amelia Rose, surface. The team is tasked to give the deceased a proper burial but make an unforeseen discovery linked to a recent murder. In the course of the investigation, Booth and Brennan are led to a different kind of ship - a "Cougar" cruise - where they learn their victim was seen moments before his death. Meanwhile, Sweets struggles to maintain a casual relationship with Daisy, and Cam discovers a surprising and emotional connection to the Amelia Rose.

Brennan gets a glimpse into her own life when the body of a brilliant and career-driven surgeon is found in a rough neighborhood with multiple fractures in her skull and no indication as to how or why she was there. While the team investigates the case objectively, Brennan struggles to separate her own life from the victim’s as she perceives many parallels between them the more she learns about the victim’s past. Meanwhile, evidence found at the crime scene brings the team closer to solving the case, but it’s Brennan’s unique perspective that propels her to retrace the final events of the victim’s life. With the reassurance of a new friend and Jeffersonian security guard, Micah Leggat, Brennan makes a discovery about herself and learns a lesson about taking chances.

A cryptic message penned in human blood is discovered at a national monument. As the Jeffersonian team embarks on a scavenger hunt to solve the case, they realize their tech-savvy suspect remains one step ahead of them. Meanwhile, Booth and Brennan search for the perfect home for their new family.

"Hacktivist" and suspected serial killer Christopher Pelant is back in court, but the team's efforts to pin another murder on him don't go as planned.