Desmond Miles is the Animus user who serves as Assassin's Creed III's modern-day protagonist.
Desmond enters the Animus to experience the memories of his ancestor Ratonhnhaké:ton, usually called Connor, during the American Revolution. The historical sequences help the modern Assassins search for information and prepare for an approaching global threat. Desmond's modern-day storyline continues the arc begun in the first Assassin's Creed and developed through Assassin's Creed II and Brotherhood.
William Miles is Desmond's father and a senior Assassin, not the player character in the modern-day sections. Warren Vidic is an Abstergo scientist, while Clay Kaczmarek is another Assassin-linked Animus subject associated with earlier games. Assassin's Creed III presents Desmond's modern-day narrative as a major part of the series' original overarching plot, alongside Connor's historical campaign.