Cutting For Stone is set in Addis Ababa, where an Indian Carmelite Nun named Sister Mary Joseph Praise gives birth to conjoined twins at Mission Hospital, and passes away during their birth. After their father abandons them, the two are raised by Hema, and Abhi Ghosh. Hema names the children, and the two boys grow up being very close to each other, even after the tissue link between them is removed.

The boys are given a solid grounding in the field of medicine, and spend a great deal of time at Mission Hospital, or Missing as per the local pronunciation. However, as time passes, differences begin to set in between the two siblings, as Marion falls in love with Rosina’s daughter, Genet, who is a domestic helper. He intends to get married to Genet, but his brother does something that leaves him with a sense of betrayal.

Marion then decides to attend medical school, while Shiva stays at Missing. Before passing away, Ghosh had three things in mind, which he wants Marion to do. The first thing being that he should receive the best medical education. The next two things he wishes for Marion to do is forgive his brother, and find Stone, his father. Marion lands in New York, where he starts his surgical residency at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Bronx. The book details the path that Marion takes and how the lives of his loved ones change accordingly.

In February 2012, Susanne Bier had obtained the rights to direct a film adaptation of this novel, by the same name. Cutting For Stone has also been widely appreciated by its readers worldwide, and was on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years. This novel has also fetched the author several awards, and some of them include Publishers Weekly’s Best Books: 2009 and Indies Choice Book Award.