1. Grace is the only family member who is not present in Shanghai when the novel opens. What is Grace’s role in the story? How would it be a different story without her?

2. What is Johnny Du’s function in the story? What role does he play in Lindsey’s life?

3. At what point in the story did you suspect how Lindsey was earning her living in Shanghai? What gave it away?

4. As adoptive parents, Claire and Aaron encourage Grace to explore her Chinese heritage. Are their efforts successful? Is there anything they could have done differently?

5. Technology plays an important role in the novel. If the story had been set 30 years earlier --- before the digital era --- what would have been different?

6. Lindsey’s relationship with Dean Farrell changes the course of her life. How do you think her life would have turned out if they’d never met?

7. In the final section, told from Grace’s point of view, we see how the Litvaks’ lives unfolded after they returned from Shanghai. Both Aaron and Claire make major life changes. Did these changes surprise you?

8. Do you think Claire and Aaron’s marriage still would’ve ended if Lindsey hadn’t met Dean Farrell? Why or why not?

9. What does traveling to China mean to Grace? What does she discover?

10. How does the world around the characters impact their behavior? If the story were set in the United States, how would it be different?