When the leg of a Marine is discovered in a dumpster, Gibbs and the team have a recurring problem - finding the rest of him. Kate and Tony are ordered to find the Marine's place of burial and exhume the body, only to discover that the Marine to whom the leg belongs was apparently cremated years ago. With no solid leads, the team is stuck following dead leads and red herrings, until it becomes apparent that the Marine was in fact alive until recently, and another Marine was killed and falsely identified in the past. This revelation prompts the NCIS team to investigate closer to home.