diff --git a/context.go b/context.go
index 4ca4ef8..e1bd892 100644
--- a/context.go
+++ b/context.go
@@ -323,10 +323,10 @@ func (vm variationMap) clone() variationMap {
 }
 
 // Compare this variationMap to another one.  Returns true if the every entry in this map
-// is either the same in the other map or doesn't exist in the other map.
-func (vm variationMap) subset(other variationMap) bool {
+// exists and has the same value in the other map.
+func (vm variationMap) subsetOf(other variationMap) bool {
 	for k, v1 := range vm {
-		if v2, ok := other[k]; ok && v1 != v2 {
+		if v2, ok := other[k]; !ok || v1 != v2 {
 			return false
 		}
 	}
@@ -1687,7 +1687,7 @@ func findVariant(module *moduleInfo, possibleDeps *moduleGroup, variations []Var
 
 	check := func(variant variationMap) bool {
 		if far {
-			return variant.subset(newVariant)
+			return newVariant.subsetOf(variant)
 		} else {
 			return variant.equal(newVariant)
 		}
diff --git a/context_test.go b/context_test.go
index b33c7bf..91089e6 100644
--- a/context_test.go
+++ b/context_test.go
@@ -738,6 +738,12 @@ func Test_findVariant(t *testing.T) {
 			name: "AddFarVariationDependencies(far)",
 			// A dependency with far variations
 			possibleDeps: makeDependencyGroup(
+				&moduleInfo{
+					variant: variant{
+						name:       "",
+						variations: nil,
+					},
+				},
 				&moduleInfo{
 					variant: variant{
 						name: "far",
@@ -789,12 +795,45 @@ func Test_findVariant(t *testing.T) {
 			reverse:    false,
 			want:       "far_b",
 		},
+		{
+			name: "AddFarVariationDependencies(far, b) to missing",
+			// A dependency with far variations and aliases
+			possibleDeps: makeDependencyGroup(
+				alias{
+					variant: variant{
+						name: "far",
+						variations: variationMap{
+							"far": "far",
+						},
+					},
+					target: 1,
+				},
+				&moduleInfo{
+					variant: variant{
+						name: "far_a",
+						variations: variationMap{
+							"far": "far",
+							"a":   "a",
+						},
+					},
+				},
+			),
+			variations: []Variation{{"far", "far"}, {"a", "b"}},
+			far:        true,
+			reverse:    false,
+			want:       "nil",
+		},
 	}
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			got, _ := findVariant(module, tt.possibleDeps, tt.variations, tt.far, tt.reverse)
-			if g, w := got.String(), fmt.Sprintf("module %q variant %q", "dep", tt.want); g != w {
-				t.Errorf("findVariant() got = %v, want %v", g, w)
+			if g, w := got == nil, tt.want == "nil"; g != w {
+				t.Fatalf("findVariant() got = %v, want %v", got, tt.want)
+			}
+			if got != nil {
+				if g, w := got.String(), fmt.Sprintf("module %q variant %q", "dep", tt.want); g != w {
+					t.Errorf("findVariant() got = %v, want %v", g, w)
+				}
 			}
 		})
 	}