Alistair Renault has assembled many teams of spies during his time working for the Office of Strategic Services, but the five young men and women of Dragonfly have struck a special chord for him. Why do you think this group, in particular, is different?
When we first meet Sam “Bucky” Barton, on his twenty-second birthday, he carries a dark secret—the enthusiastic businessman father who raised him may not be his father after all. How would you describe Sam and Horace’s relationship? How is it affected by Sam’s original, accidental revelation in 1934, and by his additional discoveries during his time in Paris in 1942? In what ways do you believe fatherhood is either tied to biology or independent of it? Give examples from the book or your own life.
Discuss the relationship between Bridgette Loring and her best friend, Gladys, at the beginning of the book. Do you sympathize with one young woman over the other? Do you understand why Gladys did what she did? How far have you gone—or would you ever go—to try to hold on to a loved one who was ready to move on?
One year before the novel opens, Chris Brandt’s childhood mate, Dirk Drechsler, had left their German-American community in Texas to fight alongside the Nazis. He told Chris, “We’ll see who will be branded a traitor when the war is over—the Germans in America who remembered the country from which they came, or the Germans who forgot.” In your opinion, what loyalty do immigrants and their children owe to the country where they have settled versus the culture from which they came? If there is no clear-cut answer, what mitigating factors do you think should affect an individual’s moral, ethical, and cultural obligations in a choice like this? In a situation where the two countries are at war, how does the answer change, or does it? Is Mr. Knowle right to investigate the Brandt family’s loyalty to America?
Discuss Dirk’s fate by the end of the book. Is it deserved? Do you wish anything had turned out differently?
Why do you think Alistair did not send Brad Hudson the initial invitation letter the way he did for the other four dragonflies? Why visit him directly, with a cover story about fly-fishing? What does this tell you about Alistair as a character, or about Brad?
In Victoria Grayson’s first meeting with her boss at G. P. Putnam’s Sons to discuss novelist Beaumont Fournier’s unwanted attentions, Victoria doesn’t let on how much of the situation she understands. When she returns to her desk, she observes that men’s “subterfuges were as subtle as a broadsword in the hand of a ham-fisted amateur and no match for a woman.” Do you agree with this? Do you think Victoria’s expertise as a fencer makes her unique in her ability to size up her adversaries, or is there something else about her that sets her apart? Do you think this hypervigilance and quick mind serve her well in her work in Paris, or do they backfire? Why or why not?
In your opinion, how does the metaphor of the dragonfly operate over the course of the book? Does it change and develop, and if so, how?
Why do you think Alistair chooses Bridgette to be his radio operator and the head of the team? Do you think he made the right choice? Who would you have chosen, and why?
Things go wrong from the moment Dragonfly arrives in Paris. Why do all the members of the team believe their drop box is compromised? Do you think they make the right choice in keeping it? Why or why not?
Chris makes the dangerous choice to protect young Wilhelm March from his tormentors at the danger of not only his job but his safety. Would you have done the same in his shoes?
The American spies come to the wrong conclusions about both Derrick Albrecht and Konrad March, who are not entirely as they appear. How did you feel about this twist when it came? Do you think you would have fallen for the same trap?
Who are your favorite characters in the book?
If you had received a letter from the OSS at age twenty-two, what would you have done? Are there causes you would be willing to sacrifice everything for?