Diego de la Vega, the son of a wealthy landowner, returns from his studies in Spain and discovers that Los Angeles is under the command of Capitan Monastario, a cruel man who relishes in the misuse of his power for personal gain. Knowing that he cannot hope to single-handedly defeat Monastario and his troops, Diego resorts to subterfuge. He adopts the secret identity of Zorro, a sinister figure dressed in black, and rides to fight Monastario's injustice.
The story of the masked rider in Old California opens as Don Diego de la Vega is returning to California from Spain, where he has been studying for several years.
It is a calm morning in Spanish California, and Sergeant Dimetrio Lopez Garcia is putting up posters, with another soldier, which are asking for reward money for Don Ignacio Torre…
Finding that Don Torres is in hiding at the Mission, Monastario forces the local Indians into hard labor until the Padre agrees to surrender the fugitive.
After failing in his attempt to sneak food to the fugitive in the Mission where Captain Monastario has laid siege, Zorro tries to scare the soldiers away by spreading a rumor abou…
In order to help the escaped fugitive Torres elude Captain Monastario's surveillance of his home, Don Diego decides that he must propose marriage to Torres' daughter.
When Captain Monastario arrests the fugitive Torres' wife and daughter, hoping to catch Zorro trying to rescue them, he instead catches Don Diego's chief vacquero Benito, who is i…
Learning that a group of disgruntled landowners plan to seize the cuartel and free the political prisoners, Captain Monastario sets a trap to capture them, including Zorro's fathe…
After Zorro hides his wounded father in the secret cave, as Don Diego he must divert Captain Monastario and his soldiers who are searching for the old man.
With his father Don Alejandro now charged with treason along with Don Torres, Zorro must see that the judge sent by the governor arrives to assure a fair trial.
Captain Monastario orders Sergeant Garcia to pretend to have been dishonorably discharged, so that the people of the village will take him into their confidence and reveal Zorro's…
Captain Monastario's latest plan is to discredit Zorro by having a prisoner who killed a man in a sword fight pose as the masked avenger and rob the local landowners at a dinner p…
Faking Martinez's death, Captain Monastario again tries to use him to impersonate and disgrace Zorro by robbing a church, leaving Zorro confused as to who could be the impostor th…
Captain Monastario finally realizes that Don Diego must be Zorro, and arrests him, but a Viceroy from the King of Spain who is visiting the pueblo turns out to be an old friend of…
No sooner does the honest new commandante arrive than he is assassinated by a mysterious stranger who frames an elderly beggar for the crime and appears to be part of a larger con…
Sergeant Garcia receives a mysterious note from Zorro. The happy soldier reads that Zorro will give himself up. When he returns for his sword, it is gone, so he sadly returns to t…
The King's tax collector and his nephew are stopped by conspirators, while on their way to Los Angeles. The conspirators threaten the men unless they cooperate, then they seize Mo…
A quiet day in the pueblo is abruptly changed when a stranger is killed by an arrow, apparently the victim of an Indian attack. Diego helps Sergeant Garcia inspect the body for cl…
A peaceful protest by a group of peons upset with taxes turns violent when one of the Eagle's men throws a rock through the magistrado's window. Galindo uses this as an excuse to …
Ramon Santil has just inherited his father's ranch and holdings, and some bad news. The magistrado tells him there's a high tax that must be paid at once or he will lose the land,…
Don Alejandro tells Diego he's received a letter from a friend in the capital telling him that the new commandante, Capitan Juan Ortega, has the reputation of being an honest and …
The fake Ortega and the magistrado announce they have captured Zorro, and a cart holding a masked man is dragged into the town square. A public unmasking will be held at noon, and…
The plans of the fake commandante and the magistrado go awry when Ortega spots Diego talking to Rosarita Cortez, a childhood friend who has recently returned from the capital. Ort…
Another stranger with an eagle feather spells trouble for Zorro when Perico, a recent arrival, sees a gypsy girl trying to pay for a purchase with several gold nuggets. Diego and …
The magistrado's plans to aid the Eagle may suffer a setback when a new commandante arrives in the pueblo. Unlike the fake Ortega, Capitan Toledano is loyal to the King and beyond…
Magistrado Galindo has smuggled a supply of weapons into the pueblo, intending to use them when the Eagle orders the overthrow of the government, but he has been unable to get a s…
Capitan Toledano plans to interrogate two prisoners who were seized when the gunpowder was recovered. The prisoners warn Figueroa, one of the magistrado's men, that they will talk…
With the death of the magistrado, the Eagle takes a more active role in his conspiracy to rule southern California. He sends two of his men, Quintana and Fuentes, to Los Angeles w…
The evil work of the Eagle takes a new turn when the commandante's wife, Raquel, visits Quintana and Fuentes and shows them an eagle feather, proving that she belongs to the consp…
Sergeant Garcia and the other soldiers are amazed one morning when every musket seems to misfire. When they check their gunpowder, they realize it has been replaced with charcoal.…
Raquel's ambitious plans for her husband appear to end when she receives a letter from him. She had been promised by the Eagle that he would be made governor of California, but he…
Another agent sent by the Eagle arrives in the pueblo, this time smuggling jewelry to finance the conspiracy. Carlos Murietta, an Argentine who is contemptuous of the locals, part…
Expecting another shipment of jewels, Murietta goes to inspect the tannery where they will be stored. There, he spots Pasqual, a peasant who lives there, and whips the old man unt…
Determined to find the missing jewels, Diego and Bernardo visit a local padre in the hopes he can assist them in their quest, but the trip is to no avail. Later, when Carlos Murie…
Another shipment of stolen jewels arrives in the pueblo, and Dolores Bastinado unwittingly allows her brother, Pogo, to deliver the cargo to the Murietta brothers. The trunk slips…
Don Alejandro convinces all of the landowners to sign a document pledging their loyalty to the government, for he has become worried by the growing signs of possible civil unrest.…
An emissary from a foreign power has arrived in the pueblo to discuss plans to help the Eagle in his rebellion. George Brighton, the agent, warns Varga that there must not be any …
Diego overhears Varga telling his aide that the de la Vega hacienda is so comfortable he intends to make it his permanent headquarters. Knowing his father will soon return and wou…
Another stranger arrives in the pueblo and travels to the de la Vega hacienda, intending to meet with the Eagle. Diego recognizes the visitor as Count Kolinko, an ambassador from …
Bernardo, who is keeping watch over Varga, is disturbed to see Garcia leading a patrol of lancers out of the cuartel. Even more disturbing is the sight of several strangers who dr…