Kono is hit hard when her mentor, surfing icon Ian Adams, is shot during an exhibition run during the opening of a surfing competition. Ian ran a major surf-wear company and was a legend on the island; his lifelong friend Max Bass, was the competition's primary sponsor. While Kono reconnects with her old friend from the team, Ben Bass (Max's son), McGarrett, Chin Ho and Danny investigate Ian's murder. Unfortunately for Kono, it looks like Ben Bass is their number one suspect. Though Ian was a lifelong friend of Ben's family and a personal mentor, in recent years, Ben became estranged from both his father and Ian because of their choice to pursue financial gain over the needs of the island. Ben is a preservationist, a value he learned from Ian, and he became disappointed when Ian no longer seemed to hold those values. By investigating Ian's financials, Chin Ho discovers Ian had named Ben his beneficiary, giving Ben even more motive. McGarrett and Danny pursue the physical leads of the crime, talking to the leader of the Kapu, the spiritual protector and quasi-gang leader of the island. Two former Kapu members are guilty of attacking Ian, but they point our team in the direction of the real killer. It turns out Ben Bass was Ian's biological son. Max Bass and Ian were fighting over that, as well as control over island development. Max had his chauffeur kill Ian, not knowing Ian left Ben the resources to protect the island.