Posing as a foppish coward, Diego, a Spanish nobleman, fights injustice in colonial California. Upon his return from Spain, Diego realizes that Captain Pasquale is terrorizing the district and levying unreasonable taxes. Disguised as Zorro - a masked Robin Hood-like swashbuckler - the young Spaniard menaces the local authorities to the delight of all the peasants. In the meantime, posing as the inept fop, he is able to move through society without being suspected.