Zorro : Season 2

The second season of Zorro opens with Don Diego and Bernardo visiting Monterey, California. They have been sent there by a group of Los Angeles investors to look over an import business. The visitors have barely arrived in town when two men burst into their room and demand the investors' money. Diego claims he doesn't have it and the men leave when the innkeeper investigates the disturbance. All they take is Diego's watch, but he suspects something more serious is wrong. Diego sets to work by v

Diego continues his investigation into Señor Verdugo's business by riding to his house, where Verdugo greets him and Bernardo with his arm in a sling. Although Verdugo claims an old injury is bothering him, Diego suspects he may be the leader of the robbers, so he sets a trap. He tells Verdugo the money is being sent via the Guadalupe Trail and should be arriving shortly, but a servant overhears him. Unfortunately, Sergeant Garcia and Corporal Reyes, who have been sent with the money along the

Lieutenant Rafael Santos is ambushed on his way to Monterey and left for dead when the ambushers take his identification and uniform. One of them, a killer named Anastacio, puts on the uniform and rides to Verdugo's, where Diego is discussing the investment deal. The real soldier is not dead, however, and his beautiful white horse stands guard by his side. Anastacio tries to drug Sergeant Garcia, hoping to steal his money belt, but the plan fails and the money is delivered to Diego. The Verdugo

After the Verdugos return to Monterey, Anna Maria enters their home and discovers that her father is missing. Pablo, their former servant, tells her the old man is being held hostage and will be killed unless she hands over 45,000 pesos believed to be in the house. Diego and Bernardo arrive and Pablo slips away, warning Anna Maria that her father will be killed if she tells anyone of the kidnapping. Although she won't admit it, Diego discovers what has happened, and he asks the local commandan

The kidnappers send word that Anna Maria must meet them if she wants proof her father is still alive, but Diego warns her it is a trick. Romero argues that she must go, so she agrees to go with him, Garcia and Reyes. Don Alejandro arrives from Los Angeles and wants to ask the army to surround the area until the others convince him of the danger. That night Anna Maria meets with the kidnappers and tearfully greets her father. The masked men tell him to ride into town for the money while they ho

Before he returns home, Sergeant Garcia angers Theresa, a tamale vendor, when he tries to carry out the orders of the acting governor. Luis Rico has decided that all of the vendors must be removed from the plaza despite their objections, and Diego promises Theresa he will try to help. She shows her appreciation with hugs and kisses, thereby angering her boyfriend, Joaquin Castenada, who was watching. Joaquin starts to say something to her but is knocked aside by Capitan Briones, leader of a band

Joaquin and several followers begin a series of raids against the Especials, which culminates with the beating of Capitan Briones. The soldier issues a death order for Joaquin and sends his men after Theresa, intending to force her to reveal his hiding place. She asks Diego to hide her, and with Garcia's assistance, he protects her from the searchers. The situation deteriorates further when one of Joaquin's men is killed, which prompts his threat to kill two soldiers in return. Briones sees th

Capitan Briones escalates his campaign against Joaquin by ordering that a peon be whipped until he reveals the rebel's hiding place. Zorro uses his own whip to stop Briones, then frees the peon. Shortly after, the real governor returns and Rico explains that his harsh rule was only imposed to make the capital a well-run city. Rico then convinces the governor to offer the rebel a truce so he can explain his case, planning all the while to kill Joaquin as soon as the outlaw turns himself in. Mea

The broken truce has convinced Joaquin that Diego cannot be trusted and, that if not for Zorro, he would have been killed. When Diego and Bernardo ride to his camp to explain, the rebel leader orders his men to lock the visitors in leg irons until he can decide upon a suitable fate for them. Joaquin announces his plans to kill the governor the next day while he visits a local shrine. When he tries to ride there, however, Joaquin is accidentally captured by Sergeant Garcia. The sergeant takes J

Anna Maria Verdugo returns to Monterey from San Francisco and becomes the object of Ricardo del Amo's affection. This friend of Diego's is an incurable practical joker. Ricardo realizes that Diego is also attracted to Anna Maria and hopes to lessen the competition by having some fun at his friend's expense. Diego is shocked when a sorrowful Sergeant Garcia places him under arrest for being a horse thief, but when he asks the name of his accuser, he's even more surprised. Garcia's answer is "Ju

Ricardo asks for Diego's help in winning Anna Maria's heart, for he feels Zorro is too much competition for the two men to overcome. If they can make it seem that Zorro is seeing another woman, Anna Maria will scorn him, thus dropping the field of suitors to a more manageable size. Ricardo plans to accomplish this by dressing as Zorro and serenading Anna Maria's cousin, Milana del Carmen. Diego sees this as a chance to cure Ricardo of his fondness for practical jokes. He arranges for Garcia to

Diego doesn't know that Ricardo has developed a hatred for Zorro. He makes matters worse when he substitutes a block of wood for a box of chocolates intended for Anna Maria. When she opens her present and Ricardo sees the wood, complete with a carved "Z", he decides to kill his unmask his foe. Ricardo plans to draw Zorro out of hiding by placing notices throughout town that accuse the outlaw of being a coward and challenging him to a duel. Diego tries to ignore Ricardo but eventually is forced

Ricardo leaves town but causes another problem for Diego before he goes. Still infatuated with Anna Maria, Ricardo tells her that Zorro would unmask himself if he really loved her. The problem is, Diego does love her, and thus begins to consider turning himself in. The governor offers the outlaw amnesty if he will surrender himself at a public ceremony.

Two indentured servants who wish to marry find that the law states they must have the permission of their masters. Buena, who works in the de la Vega hacienda, is told she is free to marry, but her boyfriend, Romaldo, is not so fortunate. One of his co-workers also wants to marry Buena so he convinces their boss that Romaldo plans to run away after the ceremony. In fact, Romaldo does run away, but he does so to find Buena so they can elope. Diego helps her convince Romaldo that it would be bes

It is time to send the tax money to the governor, and Sergeant Garcia has a plan to thwart any attempt to steal the funds during the long journey. He orders the town blacksmith to build a huge iron box that requires a special key to open it. The money will be placed in the box and the key sent to the governor by a separate route. Two men, Nava and Crispin, learn of the plan and decide to make a duplicate key which will enable them to steal the money if they can intercept the box. They enlist t

Diego's uncle, Estevan de la Cruz, arrives in Los Angeles for an unannounced visit and surprises the de la Vegas when he tells them he plans to be their house guest. Furthermore, he expects them to give a lavish party to welcome him. All of this angers Don Alejandro, but to head off a family dispute, Diego convinces his father that Estevan will leave soon. His good intent proves to be a problem for Diego when Estevan later offers to sell several jewels to his friends. Estevan claims to have bo

Estevan again becomes a problem for Diego when he decides to earn some easy money. Los Angeles is preparing for its annual horse race and Estevan would like to win the prize money, but his horse seems unlikely to win. His luck changes when he comes across Zorro's horse, Tornado, grazing in a hidden field, and he captures the animal. Diego and Bernardo are unable to find the horse despite an extensive search, so when Estevan mentions his plans to enter a mystery horse, they suspect he has stole

Still hoping to strike it rich during his visit to Los Angeles, Estevan shows a great deal of interest in a young woman when he learns she comes from a wealthy family. Don Alejandro accuses Estevan of only being attracted to Margarita because of her money, but the suitor denies the charges, forcing Diego to dress as Zorro in an attempt to frighten Estevan away. Instead of convincing his uncle to give up his plan, Diego has unwittingly made Estevan furious at Zorro. Hoping to trap the outlaw, E

Estevan still hopes to marry the wealthy Margarita but he knows that Zorro will continue to oppose him. Don Alejandro suggests that if Estevan were to settle down and begin farming, Zorro would realize that his intentions are honorable. He gives the visitor a small plot of land and wishes him well in his endeavor. The thought of working the land proves too much for Estevan and he announces he is moving back to Spain. His real plan, though, is quite different. He convinces Margarita to leave to

Los Angeles is suffering from a severe drought and tempers are fraying as crops and animals die from the lack of water. Most of the landowners are helping their neighbors by allowing them access to the few wells and springs that have not yet dried up. Don Hilario is an exception to this policy, though, for he fears his own crops will suffer. A neighbor, Miguel Roverto, a peasant with a small farm, begins to steal needed water. His orange trees are almost dead, and thus he ignores Hilario's war

A mystery develops when a teenage girl arrives in the pueblo and asks for directions to a ranch no one has ever heard of. Anita Cabrillo has been studying at a boarding school, and she has come to visit her father, whom she has not seen in many years. Anita attracts a small crowd when she asks about Don Cabrillo, who is unknown in the city, and Diego offers to let her stay at his house until the mystery can be solved. Anita has barely arrived there when she screams, then tell Diego and Don Ale

Anita is still hoping to find her father, but Sergeant Garcia has decided she is nothing but a liar and wants to send her back to Spain. Only Diego believes her story, and he tells her she needs to supply some proof of her father's existence. She mentions a package of letters her father sent to her, and Diego asks to see them. Anita goes to her room but quickly returns without them, claiming they have been stolen. When Don Alejandro again voices his doubts about her story, she claims the letters

Don Alejandro remains firm in his wish to send Anita back to Spain and tells the girl to pack her bags. Gonzales arrives to take her to the ship and Anita gives Alejandro a goodbye kiss. She turns to climb aboard the carriage but Alejandro stops her, for Anita is wearing a brooch that he once gave to the mission to be sold at a charity auction. When she tells him her father sent it her in Spain, Alejandro finally believes her story about the missing man. He changes his mind and allows her to s

When a jovial mountain man, Joe Crane, arrives in the pueblo, he is threatened with arrest for traveling in Spanish territory without official permission. Sergeant Garcia warns him to leave town but changes his mind when Crane buys him a few drinks in the tavern. Not all of Crane's problems can be solved so easily, however, for when he kisses a passing barmaid, he angers Don Carlos Fernandez so greatly that the landowner attacks the visitor. Crane immediately responds by knocking his attacker

Thought to be hiding safely in the hills, fugitive Joe Crane instead has sneaked back into the pueblo hoping to recover his hunting rifle and the load of furs he gathered during the trapping season. He also wants to see Carlotta, the barmaid who accidentally started the fight between him and Don Carlos Fernandez. Determined to kill Crane, Fernandez and his servant Hernando are using a bloodhound named Lobo to track down the mountain man. They take the dog to the pueblo, intending to use Crane'