The CSIs drop by an iconic local diner for a bite, only to find a gruesome crime scene inside with eight dead victims. The lone survivor and co-owner of the diner, Victor Demarcus, claimed to be locked in the freezer when the killings occurred, and was shocked at the carnage in his restaurant. Russell assists in analyzing the bullet trajectories and determines that there was more than one shooter involved, so the team uses all the evidence on hand to piece the shooting together victim by victim, hoping to gain insight into who shot who. Finlay examines the blood splatter at the crime scene and determines that three of the eight victims were moved before the cops arrived. After examining the evidence and running the lab tests, the CSIs determine that one shooter came into the diner, killed everyone, and then was shot by someone he knew - a 'cleaner' of some kind. Eventually, the CSIs find a coin near the discarded murder weapons that Nick recognizes; a coin belonging to Victor Demarcus. Nick confronts him and gets him to spill the truth; Victor wanted to strong arm his brother into selling the diner and hired a man to rob the place, but the robbery went awry and the gunman killed everyone. Disgusted, Victor killed the robber and an injured waitress to cover up his tracks.

Meanwhile, Finlay initially tries to give Russell some time off from this case, hoping that he'll use the time to mend some fences at home with his wife. Russell isn't happy about being left out of the loop, however, and he insists on staying involved. Later, it's revealed that his wife is very unhappy in Las Vegas and is spending some time away with family in Seattle.