After the Conner family is reported to have been missing for over a month, the CSIs interrogate Doug, the ex-con who was found in their home. Doug claims he was hired to do housework in exchange for room and board, but the family left in their van days later and did not return. Doug then sold the family's furniture, which was the evidence needed to piece together the trail of blood left in the home. Paperwork in Doug's name detailing the renting of a storage unit leads them to Mr. Connor's body, but Doug claims to have had no involvement in his death. The red dust on Mr. Connor's shoes directs them to Red Rock Canyon where they find the body of a woman identified as Jessica Fenton.The CSIs learn Fenton was having an affair with Mr. Connor and began stalking his family after he ended the affair. She killed the family dog, cut the brakes on Ethan's car, and hacked into the server at Mr. Connor's work in order to frame him for embezzlement. They piece together the evidence to determine that Mr. Connor walked in on his wife as she was beating Fenton to death and helped bury her in the canyon. Ethan's DNA, found on Fenton's underwear and on his father's wounds, reveals he was romantically involved with Fenton and killed his father. They locate the Conners' daughter, Heather, alone in a hotel room and she explains the family planned their disappearance following Fenton's murder. They framed Doug to take the fall and hit the road after Ethan killed his father. Feeling inconvenienced by her family's actions, Heather killed the rest of her family but smugly denies any knowledge of their whereabouts to the CSIs.