A man is escaping from a pursuer... and stumbles onto a demolition site, where he is blown to bits. When his body is found in pieces, the Jeffersonian team discover that his ankles were bound, and a tattoo - which somebody was trying to cut out - confirms that he's an ex-con.
The tattoo indicates that the victim was involved with a violent element in prison, though Booth, from his own experience in jail, warns Brennan not to pre-judge the man, who may have had to join a gang to survive. The investigation leads to a local bakery known for employing former felons. When Booth and Brennan learn that the victim originally went to jail for his involvement in a robbery gone bad, they begin targeting suspects from the ex-con's past.
Suspects include his girlfriend who didn't report him missing in case he got in trouble with his parole officer, his boss and ex-con co-workers at the bakery, and the brother of a woman shot during the robbery. When Booth and Aubrey make a horrifying discovery, it leads to a break in the case.
Meanwhile, "squintern" Arastoo Vaziri must decide whether to return to Iran and risk arrest - and worse - to visit his dying brother, which causes friction between him and Cam.
