It's 1850 and the residents of California are voting whether the land should be admitted as the nation's 31st state. Yet, various forces are conspiring to prevent that from happening, with the villain McGivens (NICK CHINLUND) and his men trying to steal the votes, prompting the masked Zorro (ANTONIO BANDERAS) to swing into action, defeat them and save the day.
Yet, things aren't as successful at home where the hero's alter ego, Don Alejandro de la Vega (ANTONIO BANDERAS) is having marital issues with wife Elena (CATHERINE ZETA-JONES) over him not being around enough for their 10-year-old son Joaquin (ADRIAN ALONSO). The boy, who turns out to be a chip off the old block, idolizes Zorro and wishes his dad could be more like him, unaware of the truth behind his father's passive front.
Things get worse when Elena -- after being confronted by two men who threaten to expose Don Alejandro's secret -- files for divorce and then later takes up with French aristocrat Armand (RUFUS SEWELL), a former classmate whose true motives for being in the country are masked by his dabbling in the wine producing business. Having to battle McGivens and then go after Armand and his right-hand man, Ferroq (RAÚL MÉNDEZ), once he learns what's really going on, Zorro - with the help of Friar Felipe (JULIO OSCAR MECHOSO) -- sets out to defeat them and win back his wife.