Indulgences have been synonymous with corruption in the Catholic church ever since Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the church door in Wittenberg in 1517. Despite Luther's work towards reform and the advent of the Protestant church, by 1700 the sale of indulgences was still being widely practiced all over Europe. Tingle explores the nature and evolution of indulgences in the Counter Reformation and how they were used as a powerful tool of personal and institutional reform.