1. What do you think of Pete's decision to take the blood test? Which is the worse scenario -- living with the doubt, or living with the pain of knowing the truth?

2. How would this story have been different had Pete gone to Joan first with his doubts instead of going behind her back? Why didn't Pete pursue this option?

3. Why do you think Joan never told Pete that she might be pregnant with another man's child? What does her silence say about their relationship? What other clues do you have about the state of their marriage and the reasons for their divorce?

4. How is Dave a foil to Pete, and his marriage to Marie a foil to Pete and Joan's marriage? Why do you think DeAngelo included Dave, Marie, and their family in his story?

5. Pete obviously loves Sam, even after he discovers that Sam is not his biological son. But does Pete have a duty to support Sam financially? What do you think of Barry's strategy to sue Joan in civil court for fraud-a case that he would certainly not win in family court? How do you think this story would be different if Pete didn't have the means to play the "money card?" What if Sam's biological father had been wealthy?

6. Pete makes many references to the fact that Sam and he are different, with different talents and interests. Before the blood test, Pete and Sam often conflicted about sports and Sam appeared to feel inadequate about his own athletic capabilities. Had there never been a blood test, do you think these conflicts would have improved or gotten worse? Would Pete have ever really accepted Sam for who he was?

7. Over the course of the novel, Pete looks back on five years of weekends spent with Sam. How does their relationship grow over the course of these five years? Is it a "normal" relationship? How, in general, does divorce change the way parents -- especially fathers -- interact with their kids?

8. The author spares us the scene of Joan telling Sam that Pete is not his real father, leaving us to imagine Sam's reaction. How do you picture the scene? What would Sam be feeling? How would you feel if you were given this information at the same age?

9. Was Barry the right lawyer for Pete? Would someone less ruthless have been a better choice? Could Pete and Joan have settled their problems without going to court?

10. What did this novel teach you, if anything, about America's legal system?

11. In the end, does it really make a difference whether or not Pete is related to Sam by blood? How did this story change your own ideas of fatherhood, and of what it means to be a parent?