The past and present collide when human remains from a 150-year-old slave ship, the Amelia Rose, surface, along with a more recent death. While Booth and Brennan investigate a local booze cruise for murder suspects, the rest of the Jeffersonian team are tasked with identifying the bodies of the slaves discovered with the ship so they can receive a proper burial. 

Booth and Brennan's next case leads them to a crime scene where a human skeleton has literally melted into the dashboard of a charred truck. Meanwhile, Sweets resists the temptation of allowing his feelings for Daisy to interfere with helping her pass a government psychological evaluation, and Hannah attempts to break the ice and warm up to Booth's son, Parker.