Stella and Aiden investigate after finding the body of a teenage girl in a creek. They soon realize that she was a middle-class girl attending a fancy school who was trying to make it seem like her family had more money than they did, and trace her movements to a nightclub. Mac and Danny investigate when a body is found in the tunnels without any protective gear on, and end up running into a brick wall when the Sandhogs Union blocks many of their attempts to get information about the victim.
Season 1 Episode 5 of CSI: New York resulted in a 0.00 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
Det. Mack "Mac" Taylor, a dedicated and driven crime-scene investigator who believes that everything is connected and everyone has a story, is a decorated Marine who served in Desert Storm and dabbled in war photography. The job is his life; he focuses on cases until they are solved. He and his partner, Stella Bonasera, a well-traveled, well-educated detective, an orphan who flourished in spite of the system, share a passion for the job. Stella is a jack-of-all-trades and has an unmatched desire to find answers for the victims of unhappy crimes, due in part to questions about her past.
They lead a team of experts through the gritty and kinetic city that never sleeps. The team includes Danny Messer, an investigator with an unflappable spirit and a troubled family history, which he uses on the job as he blends his own set of hybrid ethics. Messer was personally selected to join the team by Mac, and he attempts daily to live up to that honor and responsibility. Sheldon Hawkes is the crime lab's former coroner, a brilliant Ph.D. who transitioned to the field team. Joining them is Don Flack, an edgy, hardcore hugging detective with a quick wit, impressive forensic insight and a long family history in law enforcement and Lindsay Monroe, a young, athletic CSI with a Midwestern work ethic who is willing to roll up her sleeves to tackle any job and rarely hints at the dark and devastating secret that originally motivated her to dedicate her life to being an investigator. Rounding out the team is lab rat Adam Ross and eccentric coroner Dr. Sid Hammerback.
The New York CSIs may have a different process from those in Las Vegas or Miami, but they are guided by the same steadfast determination. These skilled investigators follow the evidence as they piece together clues and eliminate doubt, to ultimately crack their cases.