Twenty years after his epic adventures in Spanish California fighting corruption on behalf of the people against the tyrant Raphael Montero, the original Zorro, Don Diego de la Vega (Hopkins) is freed from prison by a young man, Alejandro Murietta (Banderas) who wishes to seek vengeance for the death of his brother. Diego trains Murietta to become the new Zorro, so that they both find their vengeance. After a period of training, Murietta embarks on a quest to right the wrongs of tyranny, all in a grand swashbuckling style, under a black mask, and leaving the mark of Z on all evil-doers. Can one man, even Zorro, stop tyranny?