ACT ONE

A skydiver who is stuck in a nearby tree finds a cocooned skeleton on a nearby branch next to him.

Brennan tries to play peek-a-boo with Christine in their family's kitchen. Christine isn't interested in playing. Sweets comes into the kitchen and tries to play too. Booth gets a call about the cocooned body in the woods. Booth and Brennan leave Sweets to take Christine to daycare.

In the woods, Cam examines the victim's jeep and finds blood on the passenger seat that's been wiped clean. Came cuts the seats open and finds more blood. Booth theorizes that someone pushed the car down into the woods. Brennan and Hodgins ride a cherry picker to examine the body. In the tree Hodgins theorizes that the victim could be Mothman. Brennan determines the victim is a Caucasian male, not Mothman. Brennan tries to cut into the cocoon, Hodgins objects but Brennan tells him she'll be gentile. She cuts a tiny slit into the cocoon and bugs fall onto Brennan's face.

ACT TWO

Back in the lab, Hodgins examines the cocoon. Cam tells him the jeep belonged to James Sutton. Hodgins recognizes his name as the archaeologist slash adventurer who wrote many novels. Cam tells Hodgins Sutton suffered from chronic sinusitis, Hodgins tells her that webworms spun webs over the branches to support them while they consumed foliage leaving Sutton's body encased. He tells Cam that it's probably been in the tree for five days.

Sweets tells Booth about Sutton's books. He wrote about being an adventurer. Booth asks Sweets about playing peek-a-boo. Sweets tells Booth should be more concerned about Brennan than Christine since Brennan is highly competitive. Booth tells Sweets he needs a list of the people who bought Sutton's bogus artifacts and books.

Hodgins rolls out a cage of crows on the platform. Cam is a little worried what Hodgins is up to. Hodgins tells her that crows feed on webworms. The crows attack the worms.

Booth and Sweets talk to Sutton's wife, Marina, and her brother, Artur. Marina has only been in the United States for a month. She met Sutton in Chechen Republic and they came back to live. Marina is pregnant. Artur has been in the states for five years. Marina tells them that her and James brought things back from Russia because he was anxious. Marina doesn't know what the things were but gives Booth a key labeled: DC WINE & ART STORAGE.
Booth and Brennan visit the storage facility. Inside the storage unit they find Sutton's workspace. There are bones there. Brennan puts it on her tongue and it sticks: it's human bones. Brennan examines documents posted on Sutton's wall. It shows the bones are from Paleolithic times...meaning the bones are thousands of years old.

ACT THREE

Clark tells Cam and Brennan that from Sutton's notes the remains came from Lake Kezanoi in Checnya. Brennan is upset that Clark has the remains. Cam tells Brennan that he is the resident anthropologist on ancient remains and Brennan should be more concerned on solving the murder. Brennan leaves the platform frustrated.

Hodgins swabs particulates off the body in the Ookey Room. Cam comes in to check in. He tells her he found particulates embedded in the scraping wound on the ribs and he's going to run it through the mass spec. Hodgins gets a text from Clark: he needs to see him. Hodgins is afraid to get in the middle of him and Brennan.

In the car Booth tries to have Brennan let go of her issues with Clark...and about Christine. He wants her to let people do things in their own way. Brennan changes the subject to tell him that there are a lot of inaccuracies in Sutton's book. Brennan doesn't understand how a publisher can let this happen.

Booth and Brennan talk to Sutton's publisher, Diana Malkin. She explains that Sutton called from Russia saying he had made an important find and was going to be able to publish something with real scientific merit. She explains that Sutton made most of his money from the artifacts he sold which usually were bought by a man in Texas.

In Clark's part of the lab, he has started to create a diorama. Angela is there to help to facial reconstructions. Hodgins comes in and still doesn't want to get in between Clark and Brennan.

Booth and Sweets look into Wayne Wilson, the Texan who bought Sutton's artifacts. Wilson is a fundamentalist who supports the biggest Creationist museum. Sweets wonders why someone would buy artifacts when they don't believe in them. Sweets tells Booth that Wilson funded Sutton trip but Wilson got upset that he wouldn't turn over the bones.

Hodgins and Angela continue to help Clark. Brennan comes in annoyed by Hodgins isn't working on the case. Clark tells Brennan that the bones seem to be both Neanderthal and Homo Sapien. Brennan examines the bones: phalanges from a Homo Sapien woman, the ribs and femur or a Neanderthal male, and mandible and humorous of a three-year-old child. Brennan notices an injury to the parietal on the Homo Sapien meaning this was a murder. Brennan gets the bones!

ACT FOUR

Clark and Brennan continue to argue about who gets the bones. Things get heated and Cam has to come in and break them up. Cam tells them Clark can keep the bones in his office and Brennan can have access to them. They both are still not satisfied.

In the FBI Conference Room, Sweets talks to Wayne Wilson. Wayne Wilson admits that he is a religious man but he did not kill Sutton. Wayne admits he bought the artifacts from Sutton. Sweets realizes that Sutton's artifacts contradicted Wilson's beliefs and when he found out Sutton had found something in Chechnya he wanted it. Wilson tells Sweets that he wants a lawyer.

Angela shows the sketches she made of the people they found to Clark. Clark tells Angela that the measurements for the child are too small. He realizes that the child is half Neanderthal. Clark is excited.

Cam tells Brennan to stay focused on the current case and to not get wrapped up in the Neanderthal case. Cam tells Brennan that the particulates in the victim's rib were from an animal. Brennan determines that with the injuries the victim has about two months ago Sutton was flogged.

ACT FIVE

Hodgins bring in a whip tool called a knout to show Cam. Hodgins tells her that Sutton was flogged by leather, which was made from a republic in Russia. Cam shows Hodgins some of the tissue from the victim's back that has scarring where the flogging took place. Hodgins is surprised the victim survived a beating like this.

Back at the FBI, Sweets talks to Marina Sutton again. Sweets asks what she knows about the flogging. She tells him that her family is traditional and didn't want her to marry a foreigner. Her father had Sutton whipped and she and James came to America to get away.

Brennan takes in Clark's diorama. Brennan examines the inter-species family and is amazed at what they have found. Brennan drops her competition with Clark.

Brennan goes to the Bone Room with Cam. Brennan shows Cam marks that on the bones she thought were from predators but in reality were caused by a weapon. The two theorize that the victim was attacked from behind causing the injuries to the scapula. Then the victim turns to face his attacker and is struck slicing his axillary artery. The victim died of exsanguination. They found cause of death together!

ACT SIX
Booth questions Marina's brother, Artur, who trained with the Russian army. Booth pulls out Artur's bank account, which was broke until a few weeks ago when he received a big deposit from a Russian bank account. Booth thinks Artur was paid to kill his sister's wife but Artur isn't talking.

Hodgins tells Brennan that he found a linen that was fused with polyurethane but wasn't from the victim's clothes. It was actually book binding. Brennan is confused on how a book could cut a major artery. Hodgins tells Brennan the murder weapon is something covered in book binder's linen but is sharper than a book. Brennan realizes she knows what killed Sutton.

Booth and Brennan return to publisher Diana Malkin's house. Brennan notes that Diana has a big range of books including How To Commit The Perfect Murder. Brennan uses her ALS light and finds blood on the floor. Diana denies everything. Booth notices that she is missing a heavy elephant shaped bookend. Booth pulls up a picture of Diana with both of the bookends. Brennan says that the bookend could be a match. Diana tells Booth that Sutton betrayed her when he called on his trip-he wanted to be taken more seriously and didn't want to work with her anymore. Booth cuffs her.

Back at the lab, the team gathers around Clark's diorama. Hodgins, Cam, and Sweets re-enact the Neaderthal family. Clark explains that this family was outcasts because of who they were. An intruder comes in and attacks the father, the mother tries to defend him but she gets hit in the head, and their daughter starved to death since she was an outcast and no one wanted her. Before they all died the family crawled to each other to die together.

Back at Booth and Brennan's house, Booth is proud that Brennan let Clark take the reigns with the diorama. Brennan tells Booth that Sutton will be credited with the findings so he will become a legitimate anthropologist. Booth and Brennan agree to try not to push their failings onto Christine. Booth doesn't believe he has any failings.