In 2004, a bank robbery in the small town of Ludendorff goes wrong, leaving criminal Michael Townley presumed dead. Nine years later, Michael lives in Los Santos under the alias Michael De Santa, hiding under a deal with a federal agent. Across town, Franklin Clinton, a young man working for a corrupt car salesman, crosses paths with Michael and the two form an unlikely friendship. When Michael is forced back into crime to pay off a debt to a dangerous drug lord, he enlists Franklin as his partner. Their activities draw out Trevor Philips, Michael's volatile former associate who had believed Michael was killed years ago. Trevor forces his way back into Michael's life, and the three protagonists find themselves pulled deeper into a web of heists, government corruption, and powerful enemies on all sides.