This episode finds the team back together, with the exception of Tony DiNozzo, who is  the "agent afloat" of this episode's title. DiNozzo is still in exile, assigned to the U.S.S. Seahawk aircraft carrier. When the newly arrived Lt. Evans commits suicide by jumping overboard, DiNozzo investigates.

Meanwhile, Gibbs sends Ziva and McGee to visit the lieutenant's widow -- not to notify her of the death, but to investigate why he might have committed suicide. However, upon arrival they discover that the wife has been murdered, and there are suspicious circumstances at the crime scene that indicate Lt. Evans may have killed her.

As DiNozzo's investigation aboard the Seahawk proceeds, he discovers that no one can recall ever actually seeing Lt. Evans in the five days that he had supposedly been on board. After McGee discovers that Lt. Evans' credit card was used after he shipped out, Tony follows the lead to a landside bar in Cartagena, Colombia, which then leads him to the lieutenant's body. Since Lt. Evans never actually boarded the Seahawk, someone went to a lot of trouble to impersonate Lt. Evans -- and use the dead lieutenant's security clearance to gain access to extremely sensitive information.

With national security on the line, Gibbs and Ziva pack their bags and head for Cartagena to continue the investigation, which eventually leads them to board the Seahawk. And then the plot get s complicated ...

It’s good to see the team back together. Although Dinozzo is still technically assigned elsewhere, this episode gives the team a chance to work together again. And it feels good!

But all is not well with the team ... yet. Vance is still pushing Gibbs to select DiNozzo's replacement.

McGee is still struggling to wipe Keating's macros and security traps from his computer. Abby misses DiNozzo something fierce. Ziva is not-so-subtly pining for DiNozzo. (Come on! It's so OBVIOUS!) And DiNozzo is really, really tired of being the "agent afloat" (who happens to have bikini shots of Ziva displayed on his wall....)

It’s also good to see McGee coming into his own. This season's McGeek has gained confidence to the point where he is almost cocky, and he appears to have gained the trust of Director Vance. McGee is a hacker's god. All hail the power of McGeeK!
You've got to love Abby's never-failing optimism. And remind me never to play poker with Gibbs.

It's not an episode of NCIS without Ziva mangling American slang, Tony making movie references, and McGee hacking into something he shouldn't. In those respects, this episode definitely delivers. This bodes extremely well for future episodes. The writing is strong, the acting is strong, and shaking up the team a little has done wonders to keep us long-time fans intrigued.

This episode was the highest ranked Tuesday prime time show. The episode drew 17.2 million viewers, down 4 percent from the season's premiere episode. However, that's still 24% higher than last season's average, according to reports.

NCIS, now in its 6th season, airs on CBS on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Classic episodes can be seen on ION TV network on Monday and Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. ET. Multiple episodes also air nightly on the USA Network.

NCIS follows a team of special agents for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The highly rated show features Mark Harmon, David McCallum, Michael Weatherly, Cote De Pablo, Sean Murray, and Pauley Perrette.