Carrie meets Brian while they are in line at an airline counter. Where have you seen similar encounters? Can you see yourself doing what Carrie agrees to—taking a much smaller plane in order to get home? Why or why not?- Carrie sees large dog in a crate on the plane and tries to befriend Baron. How might someone afraid of dogs react to Baron?
- When Carrie realizes she’s alive, she also discovers she has a broken arm. If you’ve ever broken an arm, can you imagine how she must feel—before and after Brian sets it?
- Brian has a head injury that leaves him dizzy and then he slips and twists an ankle. What other injuries would you be concerned about for Brian and Carrie?
- Brian discovers that both of the pilots are dead. How would you feel if you made a similar discovery?
- Brian and Carrie decide to walk out of the wilderness. Under what circumstances would you stay with the plane? Also attempt to save yourself?
- Carrie’s fiancé is worried about her, but also angry that she does not reply to his attempts to reach her. What does these actions tell you about him?
- How would you describe Imogene Sharp on first meeting her? What kind of mother-in-law would you expect her to be in the best of circumstances? In the worst?
- Fiona, Brian’s sister, is worried about him. If your sibling was missing, what would you do to attempt to find him or her?
- In the course of their trek away from the plane, Carrie loses it when she stumbles on a human skull. How would you react under the same circumstances?
- What do you know about search and rescue personnel? Their dogs?
- How would you describe Carrie and Brian’s relationship during their trek? After they are found?
- What is Carrie looking for in a man with whom to spend the rest of her life? Why might this be an unattainable goal?
- How does Quentin reveal his true self? What clues to his nature does Carrie miss until it’s almost too late?
- How does the presence of Baron enhance the growing relationship between Brian and Carrie?
- Both Brian and Carrie have good friends whose wisdom brings the two protagonists closer. Were no such good friends part of the picture, what do you think might have happened to Brian and Carrie?
- Carrie almost dies from the beating she receives. Do you know a woman who has suffered similarly at the hands of a boyfriend/fiancé/husband? How did the person you know get out of such a situation?
- When the professions of a man and a woman pull them in different directions, how can they be together? In what ways might each of them “let go” in order to allow their relationship to grow and blossom?
