Severide is hiding a serious shoulder injury sustained in the fire that killed Andy Darden, and grapples with his guilt as he fights to rescue a construction worker trapped in a building collapse. Adding to the burden, Darden's wife Heather turns on Severide at the annual firefighters' barbecue, blaming him for her husband's death. A call is made to an accident site at Hancock Tower, where two teenagers are pinned in a vehicle trapped beneath the falling debris of a broken window washer's cart. Meanwhile, Casey and Hallie work to figure out their future together.

After he's injured in a terrible fire at an auto machine shop, Jose Vargas is forced to go on disability and leave his life as a firefighter behind - a task he finds incredibly difficult. Chief Boden tries to help a suspected teenage firebug. Also, Severide receives an enticing invitation from Renee, a woman who he saved from a car crash incident involving live electrical wires. Meanwhile, Cruz tries to save his younger brother Leon from the gang he is involved with.

In the wake of Heather's incident, Lt. Casey is having a hard time handling his newfound responsibilities. Lt. Severide is on edge dreading the next attack from the firehouse's arsonist. Meanwhile, with Renee back from her mother's, Severide knows he has to confront her about his paternity suspicions. Elsewhere, Mouch begins his campaign for union president and Shay and Dawson feel that they need to get out more.

Severide returns to Firehouse 51, but he is clearly not his usual self. Dawson counts down the weeks until she gets started as a candidate at the Austin Firehouse. Mills learns more about his father’s family. Herrmann asks the rest of the Molly investors to come up with some new ideas to turn the business around.

Evidence that seems to exonerate Boden may not be enough. Brett and Chili find themselves in a precarious situation. The team responds to a stuck elevator in a hotel. Jimmy Borrelli's older brother wants him transferred to a different house.