Miss Fix to the rescue
- The Empty Quarter? So named because everyone dies there?—Passpartout
Faced with a dangerous journey across the desert, Fogg makes a questionable choice of guides. He and Passpartout head out, leaving Abigail behind for her safety. Unsurprisingly, the journey goes wrong, leaving the pair abandoned by their guide and at the mercy of the desert.
Enraged at being left behind, Abigail hires an unlikely guide of her own; Jane Digby, disgraced British aristocrat of questionable reputation. Catching up to Fogg and Passpartout quickly becomes a rescue mission, in which dark secrets are revealed, and the desert is not the only danger that must be faced.
Tropes:
- Artistic License – Geography: The trio's route from Yemen to Aden would not take them across the Empty Quarter.
- Bleed 'Em and Weep: Passpartout shoots a Bedouin who tried to abduct Abigail. His shock over this, as well as Fogg's utter failure to be sympathetic, leaves him vulnerable to Kneedling's manipulation.
- Broken Pedestal: Abigail initially denies that her father lied about Jane Digby and his own exploits, but is forced to admit that it's true. She admits that her journalism career has been about impressing him, and doesn't know what to do without that. Jane persuades her to keep going on her own terms.
- Chekhov's Gun: The petroleum Fogg recognises bubbling out of the sand. Later, he turns the tables during the Bedouin attack by lighting the petroleum on fire, creating enough light for the company to see their attackers.
- Determinator: Abigail. Ditched by her travel companions who set off across the desert without her? Fine, she'll just hire her own guide to catch up to them.
- Did Not Think This Through: Setting off across the Empty Quarter with a guide they don't know or trust was not Fogg's smartest ever plan. The guide abandons him and Passpartout and leaves them to die.
- Historical Domain Character: Jane Digby was a real English aristocrat.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Jane Digby's husband says Abigail reminds him of Jane. Jane is adamant that she was never that annoying.
- Oh, Crap!: Passapartout, when he realises the "help" he and Fogg think they're seeing is in fact a sandstorm.
- Slut-Shaming: Abigail is horrified to discover that her father spread salacious lies about Jane Digby in revenge for her refusing his advances.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Fogg and Passpartout get a well-deserved tongue-lashing from Abigail for leaving her behind, thinking the desert was "no place for a woman," especially as she ended up saving their lives.
