The book tells of the story of Californio Don Diego Vega, alias 'Señor Zorro', in the company of his deaf and mute servant Bernardo and his lover Lolita Pulido, as they oppose the villainous Captain Ramon and Sgt. Gonzales in early 19th-century California during the era of Mexican rule, before it became a U.S. state (see Alta California). It is set amongst the historic Spanish missions in California, pueblos (towns) such as San Juan Capistrano, California, and the rural California countryside (see also ranchos of California).