Willy Fog hires Rigodon, a former circus performer, to replace the butler he dismissed the previous day and, unknowingly, hires Rigodon's friend, Tico, at the same time. Later, Fog tells his fellows at London's Reform Club that he has read an article which suggests one can travel around the world in eighty days. To prove to his skeptical colleagues that this is possible, he wagers half his £40,000 fortune that he can make the journey.

As Fog, Rigodon and Tico begin their journey, Mr Sullivan (one of the four who bet against Fog) hires a cunning master of disguise known as Transfer to sabotage the expedition. Meanwhile, Inspector Dix and Constable Bully of Scotland Yard discover that Fog matches the description of the suspect in a recent robbery at the Bank of England and are sent to trail him.

Transfer, disguised as a French lady, attempts to lead Fog and his party astray in Paris, only to be thwarted by Rigodon and Tico in the woods on the outskirts of the city. As a result, Fog learns of Tico's presence in his party.

During a stopover in Suez, Transfer steals Fog's passport and lures the travellers to a ruined temple. This episode marks the first appearance of Tico's sun-clock, which features in all but one of the subsequent episodes.

While sailing to India, Fog and his party meet Brigadier Corn, who is on his way to rejoin his regiment in Benares and travels with them throughout most of their adventures in India. Meanwhile, Transfer's latest scheme involves disguising himself as Fog, in order to break into the latter's cabin.

His previous attempt to pose as Fog thwarted, Transfer tries again when the travellers arrive in Bombay. However, his disguise is so convincing that Dix and Bully arrest him, thinking he is the real Fog. Meanwhile, Tico and Rigodon's curiosity lands them in trouble with a local religious order.

Fog and his party learn that the railway linking Bombay and Calcutta is still under construction, forcing them to trek through the jungle to Allahabad. Transfer quickly takes advantage of the situation and, posing as a local guide, starts leading Fog and his party into the jungle on a stolen elephant.

Transfer tries to leave Fog and his party (whom he has been leading in the wrong direction) stranded in the jungle, only to be thwarted by the elephant he stole.

The travellers encounter the beautiful Princess Romy, who is due to be burned on her late husband's funeral pyre. Fog is determined to save her, but, in order to do so, he and the others must risk being captured and killed themselves.

The travellers escape from the jungle and cross paths with the elephant's rightful owner, who agrees to take them to Allahabad. Meanwhile, Romy recovers from her ordeal and, fearing she will be hunted down if she stays in India, agrees to leave the country with Fog and his party.

Shortly after arriving in Calcutta, Rigodon and Tico are arrested and charged with desecrating the temple they were chased out of in Bombay. Fog must now do everything in his power to free them before the Rangoon, the ship which will take the travellers on the next leg of their journey, sets sail.

Romy is searching for the uncle and aunt she has not seen for several years and traces them to Hong Kong. But, while she and the others are sailing there, they find themselves in the path of a typhoon.

Learning that her uncle and aunt have died, a grief-stricken Romy agrees to travel to England with Fog and his party. Meanwhile, since Hong Kong is the last outpost of the British Empire Fog will pass through before returning to England, Dix is determined to detain him as long as possible and tries to enlist Rigodon's help to do so. Then, to further complicate matters, Transfer diguises himself as Dix.

Drugged by Transfer, Rigodon and Tico awaken to find themselves on the steamship Carnatic, at the mercy of the master of disguise, who is impersonating the ship's stoker. Meanwhile, left behind in Hong Kong, Fog and Romy search for another ship to take them to Japan, in addition to searching for their missing companions.

Finding themselves stranded in Yokohama, Rigodon and Tico seek work in a local circus to raise the money they need to get home, while Fog and Romy (who have also arrived in Japan) continue to search for them.

Fog and his party are sailing across the Pacific for San Francisco on the steamship General Grant. When they are forced to make an unscheduled stop in Hawaii, the travellers learn that an island princess is dangerously ill. Romy volunteers to try and save the princess, but the travellers will all be killed if her attempts fail.

Transfer sets fire to the General Grant's sails, forcing the ship to dock in Mexico while repairs are carried out. Shortly afterwards, a hot-air balloon crashes into the ship and Fog (who must cover more than 400 miles in one day) buys it from the pilot. But, as the travellers prepare to take off, Dix (who has a plan to gain Fog's confidence) and Bully hitch a ride.

Arriving in San Francisco, the travellers experience their first taste of life in the Wild West, while Transfer enlists the help of the Dingo Kid and his gang of outlaws to lure Fog into a fight.

As Fog and the others travel across America by train, Transfer attempts to use the wild terrain against them. When he sabotages the bridge across Medicine Bow Gorge, Fog is forced to take a desperate gamble by attempting to direct the train across the bridge at maximum speed.

The train is attacked by American Indians, but Fog, Rigodon, Dix and Bully manage to drive them off. Shortly afterwards, however, Transfer (disguised as one of the Indians) attacks the train's driver and stoker, sending the train careering out of control. Rigodon and Tico, sent to investigate, end up being captured by Indians and, though the train is eventually brought back under control, Fog is not prepared to continue travelling without them.

The travellers are reunited and must now travel across over 100 miles of rough terrain to reach Omaha. Transfer leads a gang of outlaws in an ambush on a stage-coach whose driver has found the travellers on the prairie and agreed to take them to their destination.

With the railway system linking Chicago and Buffalo closed due to heavy snow, Fog and the others plan to cross the Great Lakes in an ice-boat. But, during the trip, Tico is taken ill, forcing the travellers to seek shelter in a log cabin until he has recovered.

Having just missed the ship in which they had planned to sail home, the travellers book passage on the Henrietta, a cargo ship bound for Bordeaux, even though, by not sailing directly to England, they risk missing their deadline. But, when the ship's captain, Andrew Speedy, falls victim to one of Transfer's traps and needs medical attention, he orders Fog to head for the nearest port. As luck would have, the nearest port is Liverpool, Fog's intended destination.

When the Henrietta's coal supply is exhausted fighting a hurricane, Fog buys the ship, intending to use the wood on board as fuel. By the end of the episode, nothing remains of the ship except a metal framework.

On arriving in Liverpool, Dix tells Fog he is under arrest. Though Fog is soon freed (since the real bank-robber is already in custody) he and the others have only a few hours to reach London - and the only train available is a freight train.

Fog has narrowly lost the bet and, with it, most of what remains of his fortune after all the expenses incurred on the trip. But, then, Romy asks him to marry her; Fog accepts and, while Rigodon and Tico are taking care of the arrangements, they learn that, having failed to account for crossing the International Date Line, they believe it to be a day later than it actually is. There follows a race against time to reach the Reform Club before the deadline actually expires.