The plot is set in a fictional history of real-world events and follows the centuries-old struggle between the Assassins, who fight for peace with free will, and the Templars, who desire the same but through control. The framing story is set in the 21st century and features series protagonist Desmond Miles who, with the aid of a machine known as the Animus, relives the memories of his Assassin ancestor, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, to find a way to avert the 2012 apocalypse. The main story begins immediately after Assassin's Creed II, and follows Ezio as he travels to Rome at the start of the 16th century to rebuild the Assassin Brotherhood in Italy and defeat his enemies: the Borgia family.
