"The Mark of Zorro" by Johnston McCulley is a novel originally published in 1919. In early 19th-century California under Mexican rule, a mysterious masked hero defends the oppressed against corrupt officials. Don Diego de la Vega leads a double life, appearing as a wealthy Californio by day while secretly becoming the sword-wielding Zorro by night. Alongside his mute servant Bernardo and his beloved Lolita, he confronts the villainous Captain Ramon among the Spanish missions and pueblos of old California, leaving his trademark "Z" as a calling card.