Unscrupulous crook Vickers Cavendish attains membership in London's famous Reform Club through trickery. He informs fellow member Phileas Fogg III, great-grandson of the man who made the famous 80-day trip around the world, that his own great-grandfather was one of the men financially ruined by betting against the successful completion of that journey. When Cavendish claims the feat succeeded only because Fogg I cheated, Fogg III bets him and other Reform Club members £20,000 that he can make the same trip without spending a cent. Fogg and Cavendish meet the following day to draw up a formal agreement at the bank, where the latter steals money in such a way that the theft is not discovered until Fogg and his three servants--Moe, Larry, and Curly--have stowed away on a steamer bound for Istanbul. Meanwhile, J. B. Crotchet of Scotland Yard pursues Fogg, who has been blamed for the crime, as do Cavendish and his accomplice, Lory Filch, with the latter two planning to murder Fogg to ensure their winning the bet. After wrestling toe-to-toe with a giant, dodging knives thrown by a maharajah's bodyguards, and experiencing numerous other misadventures in Calcutta, China, Tokyo, San Francisco, and Canada, the four travelers arrive back in London with Amelia, a comely American woman they have met along the way. Cavendish and Filch's guilt is established, and Fogg is able to reach the Reform Club in time to win both the bet and Amelia's hand.