Timepiece, Richard Paul Evan's sequel to The Christmas Box, is set in early twentieth century Utah. The book begins with the meeting and subsequent marriage of Mary Anne Chandler and David Parkins. Mary Anne meets David when she interviews to be his personal secretary. As time passes, the two fall in love. David discovers that Mary Anne comes from a noble family that faced many hardships and poverty as immigrants in America. During their courtship Mary Anne tells him that she is pregnant with another man's child. David marries Mary Anne regardless of her past.
Mary Anne faces multiple complications during the delivery of her child that threatened both her and her child's life. When Mary Anne's child, Andrea, is older she contracts scarlet fever and her life is again in danger. However, Mary Anne nurses her back to health and Andrea makes a complete recovery.
The two biggest loves of David's life are Mary Anne and timepieces. For years David collected his timepieces from Lawrence Flake, a friendly veteran. Lawrence obtains an extremely valuable watch from an old widows inheritance. The widow had excluded her nephew, Everen Hatt from her vast fortune, which did not go down well with him. Hatt tracks Lawrence down and confronts him with a rifle and Lawrence shoots him in self-defense, killing him. When David hears of the altercation, he claims complete responsibility for Lawrence's actions during the trial. The judge, however, rules in favor of David, resolving that the murder was committed in self-defense.
Everen Hatt's friend, Cal Barker a ruthless felon sets out to avenge Hatt's death. Barker hunts down Lawrence and brutally beats him up and in the process sets fire to David Parkins' mansion. Everyone but Andrea survive the fire unscathed. Andrea suffered severe burns all over her body and eventually succumbed to her death. Andrea is buried and her grave is adorned by an exquisite hand-carved marble angel gifted by Lawrence. Cal Barker is sent to jail for arson.
Over five years later a young girl knocks on the Parkins' door asking for food and money. It is later revealed that the young girl is in fact Cal Barkers daughter. She is the same age Andrea would have been had she been alive. Over time Mary Anne takes to the young girl and she comes to live with the Parkins.
Timepiece begins with Richard recounting how their daughter, Jenna came to inherit a splendid grandfathers clock. The clock was left to Jenna by Mary Anne, to be given to her on her wedding day. In 1967 when Richard prepares to give Jenna away, he realizes the significance of Mary Anne's gift.
Although Timepiece is a sequel, it begins as the story of Mary and David's love. Mary's compassion is shown in this novel. We are taught that the older woman she was when we meet her in The Christmas Box was once an incredible woman with the ability to forgive. Timepiece teaches us that we never really know what a person has gone through to create the person we meet later.
