This first of a two-part episode introduces Special Agent Dwayne Pride who runs the two-person Louisiana NCIS.  Special Agent Christopher Lasalle works with him.

When the corpse of Congressman Dan McLane, a former NCIS agent, washes ashore in New Orleans, Pride travels to D.C. to meet with Gibbs, his former colleague.

In the meantime, the FBI steps in and removes the congressman's body from Louisiana NCIS custody before their coroner - Doctor Loretta Wade - can get a chance to do an autopsy.  The FBI Agent who made the call was Senior Agent Lynette Doyle.  NCIS finally figures out why she did it: they were worried a serial killer was on the loose, one who had made multiple murders in various states.  

Additionally, it appears that the murderer is proving that NCIS may have made a mistake in getting a conviction in an earlier "Privileged Killer" investigation.  

The "Fed 5" - comprised of Dan McLane, Gibbs, Pride, MIke Franks and Felix Betts -  may have jailed the wrong man years ago.  It appears that the same person is using the same M.O. as the "Privileged Killer" - who murders his victims by cutting their throats and stabbing them twice in the abdomen.

Fornell runs interference at the FBI and brokers a deal to share the investigation with NCIS, thus bypassing Doyle.

In the meantime, Doyle gets murdered in the same manner as McLane. 

Gibbs and Bishop travel with Pride to Louisiana to investigate further, only to find that they have suddenly become the focus for the murderer, who is quietly taking pictures of them at the end of the episode.