Captain Monasterio collects a new tax to finance parties at the governor’s mansion in Monterey, even if it costs the poor peasants of Los Angeles their last peso. Zorro attacks the tax-collector’s escort on the highway and confiscates the tax money with the firm intention of returning it to the overtaxed Angelinos. But two bandits ambush him and race away with the booty. This time, Zorro finds himself being chased both by Monasterio’s soldiers and by furious citizens who presume he is a thief.