When a fourth woman goes missing in Seattle during the course of four months, the team is brought in to profile her captor and find him before he strikes again. Gideon, who has taken a six month leave of absence since running lead on a case in Boston that ended in disaster, is asked back to help crack the case. While the team works to hunt down the serial killer, Hotch is asked to discreetly evaluate whether or not Gideon is really ready to return to full-time duty.