The year is 1517; the place, Wittenberg, Germany. It is an age of anxiety. Poverty, hunger, and political unrest are widespread; periodic plagues kill untold thousands; public executions attract enormous crowds. Fearing death, the devil, and the agonies of purgatory, crowds of people seek absolution through pilgrimage and penance. Smelling an opportunity, Jakob Fugger, a powerful Augsburg banker, collaborates with the Vatican in the sale of indulgences, paper certificates purporting to grant the buyer a waiver from postmortem punishment for sins.

Over five hundred years ago, Martin Luther battled for freedom of faith.