diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 555b44b..7be0cc1 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
     <groupId>net.helenus</groupId>
     <artifactId>helenus-core</artifactId>
-    <version>2.0.17-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>2.0.19-SNAPSHOT</version>
     <packaging>jar</packaging>
 
     <name>helenus</name>
diff --git a/src/main/java/net/helenus/core/reflect/MapperInvocationHandler.java b/src/main/java/net/helenus/core/reflect/MapperInvocationHandler.java
index c1e55bd..08656b5 100644
--- a/src/main/java/net/helenus/core/reflect/MapperInvocationHandler.java
+++ b/src/main/java/net/helenus/core/reflect/MapperInvocationHandler.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
  */
 package net.helenus.core.reflect;
 
+import java.io.Serializable;
 import java.lang.invoke.MethodHandle;
 import java.lang.invoke.MethodHandles;
 import java.lang.reflect.Constructor;
@@ -24,9 +25,11 @@ import java.lang.reflect.Proxy;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import net.helenus.mapping.annotation.Transient;
 import net.helenus.support.HelenusException;
 
-public class MapperInvocationHandler<E> implements InvocationHandler {
+public class MapperInvocationHandler<E> implements InvocationHandler, Serializable {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = -7044209982830584984L;
 
 	private final Map<String, Object> src;
 	private final Class<E> iface;
@@ -36,25 +39,31 @@ public class MapperInvocationHandler<E> implements InvocationHandler {
 		this.iface = iface;
 	}
 
+	private Object invokeDefault(Object proxy, Method method, Object[] args) throws Throwable {
+        // NOTE: This is reflection magic to invoke (non-recursively) a default method implemented on an interface
+        // that we've proxied (in ReflectionDslInstantiator).  I found the answer in this article.
+        // https://zeroturnaround.com/rebellabs/recognize-and-conquer-java-proxies-default-methods-and-method-handles/
+
+        // First, we need an instance of a private inner-class found in MethodHandles.
+        Constructor<MethodHandles.Lookup> constructor = MethodHandles.Lookup.class.getDeclaredConstructor(Class.class,
+                int.class);
+        constructor.setAccessible(true);
+
+        // Now we need to lookup and invoke special the default method on the interface class.
+        final Class<?> declaringClass = method.getDeclaringClass();
+        Object result = constructor.newInstance(declaringClass, MethodHandles.Lookup.PRIVATE)
+                .unreflectSpecial(method, declaringClass)
+                .bindTo(proxy)
+                .invokeWithArguments(args);
+        return result;
+    }
+
 	@Override
 	public Object invoke(Object proxy, Method method, Object[] args) throws Throwable {
 
-        if (method.isDefault()) {
-            // NOTE: This is reflection magic to invoke (non-recursively) a default method implemented on an interface
-            // that we've proxied (in ReflectionDslInstantiator).  I found the answer in this article.
-            // https://zeroturnaround.com/rebellabs/recognize-and-conquer-java-proxies-default-methods-and-method-handles/
-
-            // First, we need an instance of a private inner-class found in MethodHandles.
-            Constructor<MethodHandles.Lookup> constructor = MethodHandles.Lookup.class.getDeclaredConstructor(Class.class, int.class);
-            constructor.setAccessible(true);
-
-            // Now we need to lookup and invoke special the default method on the interface class.
-            final Class<?> declaringClass = method.getDeclaringClass();
-            Object result = constructor.newInstance(declaringClass, MethodHandles.Lookup.PRIVATE)
-                            .unreflectSpecial(method, declaringClass)
-                            .bindTo(proxy)
-                            .invokeWithArguments(args);
-            return result;
+	    // Transient, default methods should simply be invoked as-is.
+        if (method.isDefault() && method.getDeclaredAnnotation(Transient.class) != null) {
+            return invokeDefault(proxy, method, args);
         }
 
 		String methodName = method.getName();
@@ -92,15 +101,20 @@ public class MapperInvocationHandler<E> implements InvocationHandler {
 
         if (value == null) {
 
-            if (returnType.isPrimitive()) {
+            // Default implementations of non-Transient methods in entities are the default value when the
+            // map contains 'null'.
+            if (method.isDefault()) {
+                return invokeDefault(proxy, method, args);
+            }
 
+            // Otherwise, if the return type of the method is a primitive Java type then we'll return the standard
+            // default values to avoid a NPE in user code.
+            if (returnType.isPrimitive()) {
                 DefaultPrimitiveTypes type = DefaultPrimitiveTypes.lookup(returnType);
                 if (type == null) {
                     throw new HelenusException("unknown primitive type " + returnType);
                 }
-
                 return type.getDefaultValue();
-
             }
 
         }