After reading in The Daily Telegraph that a new railroad in India has made it theoretically possible to travel around the world in 80 days, Fogg bets his fellow members at the Reform Club that he will make that journey in 80 days or less; the wager is for the princely sum of £20,000 (half his fortune).
(The story follows two travelers that grow to a trio and then a foursome as they fight their way through countless obstacles to reach home. The main characters are Phileas Foggwho is trying to win a bet that he made with the Reform Club that he can travel around the world in 80 days.)