Callen and Sam work with Navy Capt. Harmon Rabb Jr. to apprehend spies aboard the USS Allegiance; Hetty tries to neutralize a missile attack in the Middle East; Kensi and Deeks are trapped in a mobile CIA unit in Iraq while under attack.
Faced with multiple cases worldwide, the team splits up, with Callen and Sam working in Tel Aviv while Kensi partners with Department of Justice Agent Lance Hamilton in Los Angeles.
Admiral Kilbride requests the team's assistance to help rescue an abducted Naval intelligence officer - but the team gets annoyed by him withholding information.
The murder of a Naval lieutenant leads the team investigating a potential ebola outbreak - Callen and Sam check her ship, the USS Allegiance, while Kensi and Deeks follow her movements after leaving the ship.
The NCIS team searches for a stolen painting valued at $40 million after online chatter indicates the artwork is being sold on the black market to fund terrorist activity.
The NCIS team reluctantly aligns with two former criminals from England, Ricky Dorsey (Vinnie Jones) and Frankie Bolton (Steve Valentine), after a powerful arms dealer kidnaps Ricky's daughter in an attempt to obtain a dangerous weapons system.
The NCIS team links the theft of an undersea drone prototype to a video game streamer’s elaborate party. Also, Callen and Sam cross paths again with insurance broker Katherine Casillas, who insures the gamer’s property and processions.
After a Navy lieutenant disappears from the scene of a car accident, the NCIS team processes the crime scene and discovers his laptop is missing along with recently accessed confidential information for retired Navy SEALs.
When Eric's apartment in San Francisco is attacked, Callen and Sam head out there to locate Eric before it's too late while Kensi and Nell discover the truth behind Eric's second job.
Akhos Laos (Carl Beukes), a former black ops agent originally recruited and trained by Hetty Lange, returns to seek revenge on her for the life she introduced him to.
While the team investigates the theft of a computer virus, Callen and Sam consider their future at NCIS, Kensi and Deeks discuss having children, and Eric and Nell analyze the impact of Eric's undercover assignment on their relationship. Also, the team tracks Mara (Arielle Vandenberg), a crooked upscale banker.
CIA Officer Veronica Stephens (Dina Meyer) asks the NCIS team for help when an agricultural engineer Hetty asked her to bring to the United States disappears.
After a rise in deaths caused by black market opioid use, the NCIS team links the street drug to funding for terrorist activities.
The NCIS team investigates the murder of a Naval warfare engineer at a spoken poetry event; Callen asks Nell to assist him in a worldwide search and locate Anna.
Anna Kolcheck returns to warn Callen that he is in danger and he must now work with an archenemy to stop an underground trafficking ring.
When Fatima is captured while on a mission and held for ransom, Callen and Sam enlist an undercover CIA agent to help get her back.
When an FBI agent is killed while trying to track the location of an undercover agent, NCIS must find the missing agent before the criminals find him and meet Agent Devin Roundtree in the process.
While NCIS investigates the disappearance of a defence department officer who looked into a recent UFO sighting, Anna makes a bold decision about her future.
While Sam investigates the murder of an Iranian exile working to overthrow the current regime, he must also try to save Agent Roundtree, a new agent who's having an unexpectedly adventurous first day on the job, when he accidentally triggers a bomb. Also, Nell makes a decision about her future with NCIS.
The team assists the DOJ in the investigation of an arsonist who targets an FBI agent house that's protecting a political activist seeking asylum; Eric deals with the aftermath of Nell leaving the team.
The team helps a former NCIS tech operator search for her missing ex-partner, whom they fear might be working with the gun runners they failed to take down years ago; Deeks reels when his bar gets a negative review.
Sam, Callen and Roundtree travel to Afghanistan to help with a sensitive case after two Navy SEALs claim their chief murdered an unarmed prisoner. Note: This episode served as the de facto season finale due to the COVID-19 pandemic.