1. Virginia frequently finds herself caught up in reflections on the past. Do you think her relationship to the past is healthy? How have you dealt with difficult memories?

2. What were your impressions of Virginia’s defense attorneys? Do you think she should have testified?

3. Lady Franklin chooses Virginia to lead the expedition partly because of Virginia’s experience leading groups of people. How does she demonstrate this leadership? Is it enough for the journey at hand?

4. What is the source of Ebba’s regard for Virginia? Why does she decide to follow her after essentially being told to stay home?

5. Virginia wonders several times which group is luckier: the ones who came back or the ones who didn’t. In her place, would you struggle to decide? Who do you think the lucky ones are?

6. Which of the varied crew did you find the most interesting? Who did you think presented the greatest danger to the mission as a whole?

7. How did you feel about Virginia and Caprice’s early interactions? Did you agree with Virginia’s decisions to let things slide, expecting Caprice to eventually fall in line? How would the story have changed if she pursued the conflicts sooner or more thoroughly?

8. What do you see as the final danger the expedition encountered? Which roadblock ensured that they would never, as a whole, come back safe and sound? Were there any missed opportunities that could have prevented disaster?

9. When the women’s party divided, whose choice made the most sense to you? Who surprised you the most? Did you think any of them chose wrong?

10. In her musings, Virginia makes a distinction between serving as a guide in unsettled land and being a “true explorer.” What challenges separate these two similar endeavors? Which would you rather do?

11. At the beginning of the story, would you have expected Caprice’s actions in the crevasse? What changed for her?

12. Virginia thinks, “They would go home failures, yes. But they would go home.” What do you think of this assessment? What does it mean to fail?