1. Lucy returns to Windward as both a grieving daughter and a widow. How does loss shape the decisions she makes throughout the novel?

2. Parent and child relationships are a central theme to the novel. What do you think Lucy inherited from her father besides the estate itself?

3. Lucy’s father spent much of his life chasing a legendary treasure. Did you view his quest as admirable, destructive or both?

4. How did your feelings about Ben evolve throughout the novel? Did you think their shared experience with loss make them more or less compatible in reality?

5. Laura’s role is central even when she isn’t physically present. How did her friendship with Lucy shape both women’s lives?

6. How do you think the novel explores the concept of redemption? Which character embodies that idea the most?

7. Why do you think the author chose to connect Lucy’s modern story to the winter of 1717? Did you learn anything new or interesting from those chapters?

8. The novel is described as a story of “love and atonement,” and I think it’s easy to see where characters needed to forgive each other. Which characters did you think needed to forgive themselves, though?

9. Windward is described as decayed, debt-ridden and full of history. In what ways do you think the estate was a metaphor for the deeper relationships represented in the novel?

10. Did you ultimately care if the treasure was real, or was the emotional journey more important?