By the Book

Updated 2 November 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

By the Book is a story mission in Grand Theft Auto V (2013), ordered by the corrupt FIB agent Steve Haines. Trevor Philips has to extract information from a captive while Michael De Santa uses it to find and kill a man at a party in Chumash. Wikipedia reports that reviewers found the forced interrogation in poor taste, making it one of the game's most debated missions.

What is By the Book in GTA V?

By the Book is one of the jobs the FIB forces on the protagonists of Grand Theft Auto V. Agents Steve Haines and Dave Norton have leverage over Michael De Santa, and they use him and Trevor Philips for dirty work the bureau cannot be seen doing. On our GTA V missions page it sits in the FIB strand, straight after Three's Company.

gta.wiki says the mission starts with a phone call from Haines to whichever of the two you are playing, sending them to a warehouse in Banning in south Los Santos. The businessman Devin Weston is briefly present there too.

What happens in By the Book?

Haines wants a man named Tahir Javan dead, claiming he is linked to terrorism. The only person who can point the FIB to him is Ferdinand Kerimov, a technician who once installed equipment for Javan and is now held in the warehouse. Michael drives off with Norton to look for the target, while Trevor stays behind with Haines and the prisoner.

The first address turns out to be wrong. Haines then makes Trevor force answers out of Kerimov; in plain terms, the player must take part in a scripted torture interrogation, which the game presents as an interactive sequence. Each round of questioning yields a new detail, first a house in Chumash on the coast and then clues to the target's looks and habits.

At the house Michael finds a party with several men who could be Javan. Using the details from the warehouse, he narrows the guests down and shoots the right one. gta.wiki notes he can act as soon as the first description arrives if he is confident.

How does By the Book end?

Haines tells Trevor the prisoner is no longer needed and should be killed once the agent has gone. Trevor does the opposite. He takes Kerimov to the airport in his truck and lets him go, telling him to leave the city and speak out against torture. gta.wiki records that the scene ends darkly comic, with Kerimov stumbling down the steps as Trevor drives off.

Why is By the Book controversial?

Wikipedia's article on the game says reviewers were unsettled by the mission. They saw it as commentary on the use of torture by the United States government, yet many still felt that making the player carry it out was in poor taste. gta.wiki adds that many outlets criticised it heavily and that it still ranks among the series' most disputed moments.

The political point is underlined in small details. gta.wiki says the mission's title comes from a sarcastic line Trevor can say during the questioning, and that one of its gold medal goals is a jab at officials who denied that waterboarding counts as torture. Trevor's choice to free the prisoner at the end also turns the mission against the agents who ordered it.

What does By the Book unlock?

gta.wiki lists Devin Weston as a Director Mode character as the reward. Finishing it opens the main Merryweather Heist at the docks, a job that sets Trevor and his friends against Merryweather Security, as well as the introduction to Blitz Play. The FIB story that it belongs to builds towards The Bureau Raid and finally to the choice described in GTA V endings.