The NCIS team is called in to investigate the death of a reverend's enlisted son, and they soon realize he may have been the victim of a hate crime. Meanwhile, Gibbs tries to figure out why his father had a sudden change of behavior when he comes to visit during the holidays.
The team must put their holiday decorations on hold to investigate a Marine's death by his cell phone blowing up. They begin to realize that they need to locate his former unit to protect them from further explosions.
