1. Merritt talks of a "woman she left behind in Atlanta" and a new woman who has emerged in the redwoods. Is one more "the real" Merritt than the other? Were they both always present within her? What was it about the Santa Cruz mountains that enabled the second Merritt to appear? How do you think she might reconcile the two of them?

2. Why do you think Siddons chose to set her novel in earthquake country? Are earthquakes an apt metaphor for Merritt's situation? How so? What is destroyed in the earthquake Merritt, Laura and Gynn experience? What does each woman lose? What does each gain?