
Dr. Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist who works at the Jeffersonian Institution and also writes books, has an impressive ability to read clues from victims' bones. Consequently, law enforcement calls her to assist with investigations when remains are so badly decomposed, burned or destroyed that standard identification methods are useless. Brennan is teamed with Special Agent Seeley Booth, a former Army sniper, who mistrusts science and scientists when it comes to solving crimes but who has developed respect for Brennan, both professionally and personally.

While examining a young girl's cancer, Brennan and Booth uncover a bone-smuggling ring.

Booth and Brennan's investigation of an apparent suicide of a protester in Arlington National Cemetery may lead to a military scandal.

Brennan makes a shocking discovery while trying to identify a Jane Doe; Brennan tries to come to grips with her parents' past.

Brennan and Booth investigate the site of a train wreck that includes the bodies of a senator and a high-profile businessman.