Layla Hassan is the Animus user and modern-day protagonist in Assassin's Creed Origins.
Layla is a former Abstergo employee who uses a portable Animus to explore the memories of Bayek of Siwa and Aya in Ptolemaic Egypt. Her independent investigation becomes important to the wider conflict between the Assassin and Templar traditions and introduces a new modern-day story arc.
Origins is set primarily in the first century BCE, during the reign of Cleopatra VII and the Roman intervention in Egypt. Bayek and Aya's experiences explain the formation of the Hidden Ones, the organization that later develops into the Assassin Brotherhood.
Layla is different from Desmond Miles, the modern-day lead of the earlier main games. William Miles is Desmond's father, while Rebecca Crane is a Brotherhood technician who supports earlier Animus operations.