Assassin Creed Syndicate

Plot

In the present day, the Helix player, now an Assassin Initiate, is once again contacted by Bishop from the Assassin Brotherhood and is tasked with reliving the memories of twin Assassins, Jacob and Evie Frye, to find a Piece of Eden hidden in London. Meanwhile, Rebecca Crane and Shaun Hastings have infiltrated an Abstergo facility and, against orders, decide to spy on a secret Templar meeting.

In 1868, Henry Green—born Jayadeep Mir, the son of Indian Assassin, Arbaaz Mir—writes to the Assassin Brotherhood begging for aid. Green explains that the Brotherhood in London has fallen, leaving the city at the mercy of Templar Grand Master Crawford Starrick, a powerful figure in London's industry and its criminal underworld. Starrick plots to use his wealth and influence to increase the Templars' political power within Britain and, through its holdings, the world, effectively making the British Empire an arm of the Templar Order. Outside of London, the Frye twins begin their work, with Jacob assassinating a corrupt factory boss, Rupert Ferris. Evie infiltrates a lab owned and run by David Brewster and Templar occultist Lucy Thorne. Inside, Evie finds Brewster experimenting on a Piece of Eden and assassinates him. Brewster tells Evie that Starrick knows of a second, more powerful Piece of Eden when the first Piece of Eden becomes unstable and explodes, forcing Evie to flee. With their missions successful, the Frye twins decide to disobey orders from the Brotherhood and head for London. In the present, Rebecca and Shaun spy on a meeting between senior Templar figure Isabelle Ardant and Álvaro Gramática. Rebecca and Shaun attempt to capture Isabelle but she had anticipated the ambush, revealing that Sigma Team leader Otso Berg and Violet da Costa were there to intercept the two assassins. Nevertheless, the two manage to flee when Bishop detonates a pre-planted explosive.

In the past, the Frye twins arrive in London and meet with Henry Green, who reveals himself as an old acquaintance of their father. They have different ideas on how to liberate London: Jacob advocates that they take the fight straight to the Templars, while Evie advises they find the Piece of Eden first. They agree to begin liberating the various boroughs of London by defeating Templar-controlled gangs, sabotaging Templar-controlled businesses, assassinating high ranking Templars, and building up their own criminal gang called the Rooks. Along the way, they enlist the help of various people including Charles Dickens, Frederick Abberline, Alexander Graham Bell, Florence Nightingale, Ned Wynert (Ferelith Young), Edward Hodson Bayley, and a young Arthur Conan Doyle.

Jacob decides to investigate the mysterious and addictive "Soothing Syrup" that Starrick has been distributing all across London and is slowly poisoning the populace. He meets Charles Darwin, who is also investigating the syrup. Together, they destroy the factory producing the syrup and interrogate Richard Owen. Owen informs them that John Elliotson has been manufacturing the syrup. Jacob and Darwin then head to Lambeth Asylum, where Jacob assassinates Elliotson. Next, Jacob decides to assist Pearl Attaway, one of Starrick's competitors in the omnibus business. He sabotages Starrick's omnibus company and assassinates its boss, Malcolm Milner. However, Milner warns Jacob that Starrick and Attaway are cousins and that Attaway is a Templar. In response, Jacob assassinates Attaway. Jacob then learns of Templar banker Philip Twopenny's plot to rob the Bank of England and steal its gold reserve. With Abberline's assistance, Jacob breaks into the Bank and assassinates Twopenny. Jacob then heads to Parliament to prevent a Templar plot to assassinate British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, who is pushing to pass the Corrupt Practices Act. Jacob assassinates the mastermind, the Earl of Cardigan.

Jacob is then contacted by Maxwell Roth, the leader of the Templar-controlled gang, the Blighters. Roth offers to betray the Templars and form an alliance with the Rooks, which Jacob accepts. After assisting Roth in several missions against Starrick, Jacob breaks off the alliance when Roth tricks him into bombing a building full of child labourers. Jacob infiltrates Roth's headquarters at the Alhambra Theatre and assassinates Roth.

Meanwhile, Evie looks for the Piece of Eden, managing to steal an Assassin journal from Thorne. Analyzing the journal, Evie discovers that it refers to the Shroud of Eden, a Piece of Eden that can heal any injury, including old age, and makes the wearer immortal. She follows the trail of clues underneath the mansion of Edward Kenway, where she finds a map detailing the locations of all of the Assassin vaults hidden in London. Her search leads her to famous landmarks such as the Monument to the Great Fire of London and St. Paul's Cathedral. She obtains the key needed to access the Shroud's vault, but it is stolen by Thorne. Evie then heads to the Tower of London, where the vault is located and assassinates Thorne. Thorne explains the Shroud is not in the Tower and claims that the Assassins have no idea of the true power of the Shroud before dying. Green believes the real vault is hidden in Buckingham Palace, and enlists the aid of the Maharajah Duleep Singh to find the schematics for the building. Unfortunately, the Templars manage to seize the schematics first. In addition to her hunt for the Shroud, Evie also helps correct the unintended consequences Jacob's assassinations have caused such as medicine shortages and currency inflation.

With all of his lieutenants dead, Starrick moves to retrieve the Shroud personally. Throughout the latter part of the game, the twins' different views on approaching their time in London come to a boiling point when Jacob and Evie get into an argument over Jacob's recklessness and Evie's apparent inaction. Henry warns the Frye twins that Starrick plans to break into Buckingham Palace, steal the Shroud, and kill all of Britain's heads of church and state. The Frye twins agree to work together to stop Starrick before going their separate ways. The twins infiltrate a ball being held at the palace, where they meet Queen Victoria and Starrick himself. Starrick beats them to the vault and obtains the Shroud for himself, which grants him superhuman strength and regeneration from wounds. Working together, the Frye twins and Green manage to defeat and kill Starrick. After the battle, Jacob and Evie return the Shroud to the vault, reconcile their differences, and agree to continue working together. In recognition of their deeds, Queen Victoria knights the Frye twins and Green.

In the present, with the location of the Shroud confirmed, Shaun, Rebecca, and Russian Assassin Galina Voronina head to the vault. Unfortunately, Otso Berg, da Costa, and Ardant beat them there and a fight ensues in which Berg is knocked unconscious, Rebecca is shot and wounded and Ardant is killed by Shaun while da Costa escapes with the Shroud. Hacking Isabelle's computer, the Assassins find out the Templars plan to use the Shroud to construct a living Precursor. The recording also shows that Juno is secretly manipulating certain employees within Abstergo from behind the scenes to sabotage the company, and has her own plans for the Shroud. Juno also contacts the Initiate through the simulation, leading them into a new memory segment of Lydia Frye, where she tracks down and kills a Sage in a war-torn London during World War I.