When Phileas Fogg accepts a bet to travel round the globe in 80 days, he cannot guess what excitements and dangers await him. Accompanied by his faithful valet, Passepartout, and hounded by the dogged, if unperceptive, Detective Fix, this imperturbable adventurer lets nothing stand in his way.

First published in 1873, Jules Verne's classic novel depicting Fogg's epic race against the calendar still retains its power to thrill, despite the ease of long-distance travel provided by modern transport. The novel succeeds because it has all the elements of a great adventure story. Fogg falls in love, undertakes dangerous rescue missions, suffers a serious case of mistaken identity and experiences all the risks of an around the world journey in the late 19th Century.