diff --git a/examples/accounts.py b/examples/accounts.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fc04499
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/accounts.py
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+#demo account management program
+import argparse
+from nvm.fake_pmemobj import PersistentObjectPool, PersistentDict, PersistentList
+import decimal
+import datetime
+
+#initial account creation module 
+
+#top-level parser
+parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
+parser.add_argument('--foo', action = 'store_true', help = 'foo help')
+subparsers = parser.add_subparsers(help = 'sub-command help', dest = 'subcommand')
+parser.add_argument('-f', '--filename', default='accounts.pmem', help="filename to store data in")
+parser.add_argument('-d', '--date', default = datetime.date.today(), help = 'specify date for this transaction')
+
+#create the parser for the 'accounts create' command
+parser_create = subparsers.add_parser('create', description= 'account creation')
+parser_create.add_argument('account', help = 'create specific type of bank account')
+parser_create.add_argument('amount', help = 'establish initial balance', type=decimal.Decimal, default = decimal.Decimal('0.00'), nargs = '?')
+#list account info., incl. past transactions
+parser_create = subparsers.add_parser('list', description = 'individual account information display')
+parser_create.add_argument('account', help = 'specify account')                         
+#transfer money between accounts
+parser_create = subparsers.add_parser('transfer', description = 'transer funds between accounts')
+parser_create.add_argument('transferAmount', help ='quantity of money to transfer', type=decimal.Decimal, default = decimal.Decimal('0.00'))
+parser_create.add_argument('pastLocation', help ='account from which funds are withdrawn')
+parser_create.add_argument('futureLocation', help = 'account to which funds are deposited') 
+parser_create.add_argument('memo', help = 'explanation of transfer', nargs = argparse.REMAINDER)
+#withdraw money from account (check)
+parser_create = subparsers.add_parser('check', description = 'withdraw money via check')
+parser_create.add_argument('checkNumber', help = 'number of check')
+parser_create.add_argument('account', help = 'account from which to withdraw money')
+parser_create.add_argument('amount', help = 'amount withdrawn', type = decimal.Decimal, default = decimal.Decimal('0.00'))
+parser_create.add_argument('memo', help = 'check memo', nargs = argparse.REMAINDER)
+#deposit money into account
+parser_create = subparsers.add_parser('deposit', description = 'deposit money into account')
+parser_create.add_argument('account', help = 'account in which to deposit money')
+parser_create.add_argument('amount', help = 'total deposit', type = decimal.Decimal, default = decimal.Decimal('0.00'))
+parser_create.add_argument('memo', help = 'source of deposit', nargs = argparse.REMAINDER)
+#withdraw money from account (cash)
+parser_create = subparsers.add_parser('withdraw', description = 'withdraw amount of cash from account')
+parser_create.add_argument('account', help = 'account from which to withdraw money')
+parser_create.add_argument('amount', help = 'total withdrawl', type = decimal.Decimal, default = decimal.Decimal('0.00'))
+parser_create.add_argument('memo', help = 'reason for withdrawl', nargs = argparse.REMAINDER)
+args = parser.parse_args()
+
+#check to see if args.date is a string -- convert to datetime object if so
+if isinstance(args.date, str) == True:
+    args.date = datetime.datetime.strptime(args.date, '%Y-%m-%d')
+    
+with PersistentObjectPool(args.filename, flag='c') as pop:
+    if pop.root is None:
+        pop.root = pop.new(PersistentDict)
+    accounts = pop.root
+    if args.subcommand == 'create':
+        accounts[args.account] = [[args.date, decimal.Decimal(args.amount), 'Initial account balance']]
+        print("Created account '" + args.account + "'.")                       
+    elif args.subcommand == 'list':
+        L1 = ("Date         Amount  Balance  Memo\n"
+              "----------  -------  -------  ----")
+        print(L1)
+        accntBalance = decimal.Decimal(0)                           
+        for x in accounts[args.account]:
+            accntBalance = accntBalance + x[1]
+        for transaction in reversed(accounts[args.account]):
+            L2= "{:%Y-%m-%d}{:>9}{:>9}  {}".format(transaction[0], transaction[1], accntBalance, transaction[2])
+            print(L2)
+            accntBalance = accntBalance - transaction[1]
+    elif args.subcommand == 'transfer':
+        s= " "
+        memo = s.join(args.memo)
+        memo = memo[0].upper() + memo[1:]
+        accounts[args.pastLocation].append([args.date, -decimal.Decimal(args.transferAmount), memo])         
+        accounts[args.futureLocation].append([args.date, decimal.Decimal(args.transferAmount), memo])
+        pBalance = decimal.Decimal(0)
+        for transaction in accounts[args.pastLocation]:
+            pBalance = pBalance + transaction[1]
+        fBalance = decimal.Decimal(0)
+        for transaction in accounts[args.futureLocation]:
+            fBalance = fBalance + transaction[1]
+        print("Transferred {} from {} (new balance {}) to {} (new balance {})".format(args.transferAmount, args.pastLocation, str(pBalance), args.futureLocation, str(fBalance)))
+    elif args.subcommand == 'check':
+        c = " "
+        memo = c.join(args.memo)
+        memo = memo[0].upper() + memo[1:]
+        accounts[args.account].append([args.date, -decimal.Decimal(args.amount), "Check {}: {}".format(args.checkNumber, memo)])
+        newBalance = decimal.Decimal(0)
+        for transaction in accounts[args.account]:
+            newBalance = newBalance + transaction[1]
+        print("Check {} for {} debited from {} (new balance {})".format(args.checkNumber, args.amount, args.account, newBalance))
+    elif args.subcommand == 'deposit':
+        c = " "
+        memo = c.join(args.memo)
+        memo = memo[0].upper() + memo[1:]
+        accounts[args.account].append([args.date, decimal.Decimal(args.amount), memo])
+        newBalance = decimal.Decimal(0)
+        for transaction in accounts[args.account]:
+            newBalance = newBalance + transaction[1]
+        print("{} added to {} (new balance {})".format(args.amount, args.account, newBalance))
+    elif args.subcommand == 'withdraw':
+        c = " "
+        memo = c.join(args.memo)
+        memo = memo[0].upper() + memo[1:]
+        accounts[args.account].append([args.date, -decimal.Decimal(args.amount), memo])
+        newBalance = decimal.Decimal(0)
+        for transaction in accounts[args.account]:
+            newBalance = newBalance + transaction[1]
+        print("{} withdrawn from {} (new balance {})".format(args.amount, args.account, newBalance))
+    else:
+        #check for accounts
+        if accounts:
+            #25 character spaces
+            m1= ("Account            Balance\n"
+                 "-------            -------")
+            print(m1)
+            accntTotal = decimal.Decimal(0)
+            for specificAccount in sorted(accounts):
+                balance= decimal.Decimal(0.0)
+                for transaction in accounts[specificAccount]:
+                    balance = balance + transaction[1]
+                accntInfo = "{:<20}{:>6}".format(specificAccount, balance)
+                print(accntInfo)
+                accntTotal = accntTotal + balance
+            m2=("                   _______\n"
+                "    Net Worth:      {:>6.2f}").format(accntTotal)
+            print (m2)
+        #print message if no accounts exist
+        else:
+            print("No accounts currently exist.  Add an account using 'account create'.")
diff --git a/nvm/fake_pmemobj.py b/nvm/fake_pmemobj.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..45a3b7e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nvm/fake_pmemobj.py
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+"""
+A fake PersistentObjectPool.  It does the persistence magic by using json
+on the root object to store it in a file, and the transactions are fake.  But
+it allows for testing the "this persists" logic of a program without dealing
+with any bugs that may exist in the real PersistentObjectPool.
+
+"""
+
+import os
+import pickle
+
+from contextlib import contextmanager
+
+#from nvm.pmemobj import PersistentList, PersistentDict
+
+class PersistentList(object):
+    pass
+class PersistentDict(object):
+    pass
+
+class PersistentObjectPool:
+    def __init__(self, filename, flag='w', *args, **kw):
+        self.filename = filename
+        exists = os.path.exists(filename)
+        if flag == 'w' or (flag == 'c' and exists):
+            with open(filename, 'rb') as f:
+                self.root = pickle.load(f)[0]
+        elif flag == 'x' or (flag == 'c' and not exists):
+            with open(filename, 'wb') as f:
+                self.root = None
+                pickle.dump([None], f)
+        elif flag == 'r':
+            raise ValueError("Read-only mode is not supported")
+        else:
+            raise ValueError("Invalid flag value {}".format(flag))
+
+    def new(self, typ, *args, **kw):
+        if typ == PersistentList:
+            return list(*args, **kw)
+        if typ == PersistentDict:
+            return dict(*args, **kw)
+
+    @contextmanager
+    def transaction(self):
+        yield None
+
+    def close(self):
+        with open(self.filename+'.tmp', 'wb') as f:
+            pickle.dump([self.root], f)
+        os.rename(self.filename+'.tmp', self.filename)
+
+    def __enter__(self):
+        return self
+
+    def __exit__(self, *args):
+        self.close()
diff --git a/nvm/pmemobj/__init__.py b/nvm/pmemobj/__init__.py
index 6f382c0..7693524 100644
--- a/nvm/pmemobj/__init__.py
+++ b/nvm/pmemobj/__init__.py
@@ -8,3 +8,5 @@
 
 from .pool import open, create, MIN_POOL_SIZE, PersistentObjectPool
 from .list import PersistentList
+class PersistentDict(object):
+    pass
diff --git a/tests/accounts.txt b/tests/accounts.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..37b27a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/accounts.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,185 @@
+This file tests and demonstrates the 'accounts' example program.  We're using
+doctest here for two reasons: (1) accounts is a command line program that
+produces output on the terminal, so doctest's "show the command and check the
+output" approach is a natural fit, and (2) accounts is demonstrating the
+*persistence* of data between command runs, so a long string of examples that
+progressively modify the data is a better fit than the unit test approach.  To
+do the same thing in unit test would be harder to read, more verbose (because
+each test would need multiple commands to test the persistence), and not really
+*unit* tests in the sense the unit test framework is designed for writing.
+
+To run these tests you should have your current directory be the directory
+containing the 'nvm' package, and run the following command:
+
+    python3 -m doctest tests/accounts.txt
+
+The doctest will only run if the 'accounts' demo is in 'examples/accounts'
+relative to that same current directory.
+
+The persistent data used by the tests is backed by a file.  For current testing
+purposes we're using an ordinary file system file in the temporary directory
+using libpmem's pmem emulation support.  For a test of a demo program more
+than that is not really needed.
+
+If a test run aborts, that file will be left behind, so the first thing
+we need to do is remove the temp file:
+
+    >>> import tempfile
+    >>> import os
+    >>> PMEM_FILE = os.path.join(tempfile.gettempdir(), 'accounts.pmem')
+    >>> if os.path.exists(PMEM_FILE):
+    ...     os.remove(PMEM_FILE)
+
+The tests below use a common format: we call the accounts demo program using
+a set of arguments, and see the output that produces.  Since we're running this
+from inside doctest, which executes python code, we need a helper function to
+run the command:
+
+    >>> import sys
+    >>> from subprocess import Popen, PIPE
+    >>> def run(cmd):
+    ...     env = os.environ
+    ...     env['PYTHONPATH'] = '.'
+    ...     cmd, _, args = cmd.partition(' ')
+    ...     cmd = (sys.executable + ' ' + os.path.join('examples', cmd + '.py')
+    ...             + ' -f ' + PMEM_FILE + ' ' + '-d 2015-08-09 ' + args)
+    ...     p = Popen(cmd, shell=True, stdout=PIPE, stderr=PIPE,
+    ...                    universal_newlines=True, env=env)
+    ...     rc = p.wait()
+    ...     for line in p.stdout:
+    ...        print(line.rstrip('\n'))
+    ...     errs = p.stderr.read().splitlines()
+    ...     if errs:
+    ...         print('--------- error output --------')
+    ...         for line in errs:
+    ...             print(line)
+
+This function takes care of the boilerplate of turning the command name
+'accounts' into a call to it using the same interpreter used to run the
+doctests, in its expected location in the examples directory, and passing to it
+the -f option to specify the location of our test database instead of using its
+default.  It also prints a line dividing normal output from error output if
+there is any error output, allowing us to check that error output goes to the
+correct standard stream.
+
+Initially, the file holding the data does not exist:
+
+    >>> os.path.exists(PMEM_FILE)
+    False
+
+The default action of the 'accounts' command is to show a summary of the
+current accounts.  Initially that will just be a message that there are
+no accounts:
+
+    >>> run('accounts')
+    No accounts currently exist.  Add an account using 'account create'.
+
+But now the (empty) persistent memory file will exist:
+
+    >>> os.path.exists(PMEM_FILE)
+    True
+
+If we create an account, by default it starts with a zero balance:
+
+    >>> run('accounts create checking')
+    Created account 'checking'.
+    >>> run('accounts')                     
+    Account            Balance
+    -------            -------
+    checking              0.00
+                       _______
+        Net Worth:        0.00
+
+When we create an account, we can specify an initial balance:
+
+    >>> run('accounts create savings 119.00')
+    Created account 'savings'.
+    >>> run('accounts')
+    Account            Balance
+    -------            -------
+    checking              0.00
+    savings             119.00
+                       _______
+        Net Worth:      119.00
+
+The only transaction in a newly created account is the initial balance:
+
+    >>> run('accounts list checking')
+    Date         Amount  Balance  Memo
+    ----------  -------  -------  ----
+    2015-08-09     0.00     0.00  Initial account balance
+
+    >>> run('accounts list savings')
+    Date         Amount  Balance  Memo
+    ----------  -------  -------  ----
+    2015-08-09   119.00   119.00  Initial account balance
+
+If we transfer money between accounts, that will add a transaction to
+each account:
+
+    >>> run('accounts transfer 50.50 savings checking For check 115')
+    Transferred 50.50 from savings (new balance 68.50) to checking (new balance 50.50)
+
+    >>> run('accounts list checking')
+    Date         Amount  Balance  Memo
+    ----------  -------  -------  ----
+    2015-08-09    50.50    50.50  For check 115
+    2015-08-09     0.00     0.00  Initial account balance
+
+    >>> run('accounts list savings')
+    Date         Amount  Balance  Memo
+    ----------  -------  -------  ----
+    2015-08-09   -50.50    68.50  For check 115
+    2015-08-09   119.00   119.00  Initial account balance
+
+When check 115 clears we can do:
+
+    >>> run('accounts check 115 checking 50.50 Vet bill')
+    Check 115 for 50.50 debited from checking (new balance 0.00)
+
+    >>> run('accounts list checking')
+    Date         Amount  Balance  Memo
+    ----------  -------  -------  ----
+    2015-08-09   -50.50     0.00  Check 115: Vet bill
+    2015-08-09    50.50    50.50  For check 115
+    2015-08-09     0.00     0.00  Initial account balance
+
+Next we can deposit funds into one of the accounts:
+
+    >>> run('accounts deposit savings 30.00 Monday paycheck')
+    30.00 added to savings (new balance 98.50)
+
+    >>> run('accounts list savings')
+    Date         Amount  Balance  Memo
+    ----------  -------  -------  ----
+    2015-08-09    30.00    98.50  Monday paycheck
+    2015-08-09   -50.50    68.50  For check 115
+    2015-08-09   119.00   119.00  Initial account balance
+
+Conversely, we can withdraw funds:
+
+    >>> run('accounts withdraw savings 15.00 lunch money')
+    15.00 withdrawn from savings (new balance 83.50)
+
+    >>> run('accounts list savings')
+    Date         Amount  Balance  Memo
+    ----------  -------  -------  ----
+    2015-08-09   -15.00    83.50  Lunch money
+    2015-08-09    30.00    98.50  Monday paycheck
+    2015-08-09   -50.50    68.50  For check 115
+    2015-08-09   119.00   119.00  Initial account balance
+
+(Aside: it would be nice to have the account name in the previous command
+have a default value that could be established by an 'accounts set
+default-checking checking' command so that we could just type 'accounts
+check 115 50.50 Vet bill'), but that is a bit complicated to code with
+argparse so we won't bother with doing that for this demo program.)
+
+
+
+
+
+Cleanup:
+    >>> if os.path.exists(PMEM_FILE):
+    ...     os.remove(PMEM_FILE)
+