Hello, I'm Tim.
Today's story takes place in an age of adventure,
when people travelled by boat, train and plane to the furthest corners of the earth.
We begin in London with Phileas Fogg, a rich man who's around 40, without close friends or relatives.
He spends most of his time with his servant, Jean Passepartout, lounging around his beloved reform club.
One evening at the club, Fogg joins a conversation about the theft of £55,000 from the Bank of England.
The discussion revolves around the thief's escape, and Fogg remarks that travelling abroad has become much easier.
Very soon, he has bet half his fortune that he can travel around the world in 80 days,
returning to the Reform Club by 8.45 on the evening of December 21st.
Around two hours later, Fogg and Passepartout are on a train to Paris,
bound for a boat that will take them to Egypt.
Meanwhile, a policeman, Detective Fix, is running around looking for the Bank of England robber.
Fix suspects Phileas Fogg and travels to Egypt to intercept him.
Without beating around the bush, Fix accuses Fogg of the crime,
but, unluckily for the detective, an arrest warrant has not arrived from police headquarters, Scotland Yard, in London.
But grudgingly, Fix allows the pair to continue, the first,
but not the last, time that fog runs rings around the detective.
Not wishing to hang around, our travellers depart on the next boat to India.
But when Passepartout gets into trouble after fooling around in a temple,
the pair hasten to their next stop, Calcutta, by the only means available, riding an elephant.