This novel is about a boy named Homer Wells who grew up in an
orphanage in
St. Cloud’s, Maine.
Dr. Wilbur Larch, Nurse Angela, and Nurse Edna run the orphanage. After Homer experiences three failed adoptions, St. Cloud’s becomes his permanent home and Dr. Larch decides teach him everything he knows. As Homer gets older this includes all of Dr. Larch’s skills as an obstetrician. Before Homer is even out of his teens he has the skills of an excellent surgeon. Not only is St. Cloud’s an orphanage, but it is also a place where woman can have safe abortions, which at that time are illegal. Abortion is a topic that Dr. Larch and Homer fell very differently about. Dr. Larch teaches Homer the procedure, but Homer refuses to perform them. For such a young person Homer takes on a lot of responsibility. When a sickly boy, Fuzzy Stone, passes away Homer is the only orphan to know about it and suggests to Dr. Larch that they tell the children he was adopted. Homer’s life at the orphanage has generally been a happy one, but there comes a time when he wants to go see the world.
A young couple, Wally and Candy, come to St. Cloud in order to terminate her pregnancy. They are nice kids and Homer decides to ask them for a ride. Dr. Larch is extremely upset about Homer’s leaving particularly since Homer says he does not want to be a doctor. Not caring where he goes Homer ends goes back with them to Heart's Rock, and works at Wally’s family orchard picking apples. Ocean View orchard is run by Olive Worthington, Wally’s mother. Homer is taken in like one of the family and shares Wally’s room. Every
year when the picking season starts migrant workers come to work and live in the Cider House. The man who leads them, crew boss Mr. Rose, is a hard working, respected man. Homer learns almost immediately that you never want to get on the bad side of Mr. Rose and his knife. Soon after Pearl Harbor is attacked and Wally immediately enlists in the Army Air Corps. Around this time Dr. Larch writes with some surprising news, that Homer has a heart condition. He tells Homer that it's not serious, but that he should try to avoid extreme excitement and that cannot serve in the military. Candy also works at the orchard and over time the two become particularly close. They eventually become romantically involved and fall in love.
While Homer is away from St. Clouds lots of things have changed. Each year St. Cloud’s Board of Trustees would have a meeting to discuss how things were going there. And each year Dr. Larch has to fend off hiring any new staff, because of his concern that they will stop the abortions from being performed. This year there are new board members and Dr. Larch, who is over seventy years old, comes to the realization that he will soon be replaced. He devises a plan to make Homer Wells his replacement. He creates a persona with the name and information of the long since dead Fuzzy Stone. Through letters and forged documents Dr. Larch creates the successful Dr. Stone. To further promote this doctor to the board he makes him a Christian missionary who is very religious and fervently against abortion. The only problem with Dr. Larch’s plan is that he has not consulted Homer. Letter after letter Dr. Larch tries to convince Homer of what a satisfying life he has led. But Homer is too much in love to consider going back to St. Cloud’s. The only hope that Dr. Larch has is that Wally will come home soon.
Mrs. Worthington receive news that Wally’s plane has been shot down and that he is missing. Shortly after Candy realized she is pregnant. Homer is very adamant about keeping the baby, but Candy is worried about hurting Mrs. Worthington. So they decide to go to go St. Clouds together to live and Homer tells everyone its because the staff at the orphanage is overwhelmed. Their child Angel is born and right after Candy receives a telegram that Wally has been found alive and is paralyzed. Homer and Candy go back to the orchard and tell everyone that omer has adopted a baby. Candy and Wally marry a month after he is back. For many years the three of them live at the house together with Angel, no one ever tells Wally the truth about the boy, but they suspect he might already know. It’s a complicated situation but they appear to be happy. When Angel is in teen years he develops a crush on Mr. Roses daughter Rose Rose. This year she brought her baby with her and soon it is apparent that she is pregnant again. Rose Rose confides in Angel that Mr. Rose is the father of this baby. This is a complicated situation for everyone involved. After finding out that Rose Rose was planning on going to an unqualified abortionist Homer makes the decision to help her. Then he receives the news that Dr. Larch has died and the future of St. Cloud’s is up in the air. Home Wells then makes the decision to go home and become the doctor that Dr. Larch always knew he was.
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