Hermann Hesse, the best friend of Emmy Hennings and Hugo Ball, referred to this "wonderful couple" as "one of the most exciting phenomena of intellectual Germany": Emmy is a star of the Munich Bohemia in 1914, exuding eroticism, a zest for life, and a tendency towards spirituality. She loves both men and women, and her carefree lifestyle lands her in prison multiple times. The playwright and writer Hugo Ball falls hopelessly in love with the singer, and together they emigrate to Switzerland before the war, where they live in poverty and misery. In Zurich, they invent Dadaism, which continues to significantly influence modern art to this day. When Emmy begins an affair, Hugo pursues her with a revolver in his pocket. He wins her back and encourages her to write books about her own experiences with prostitution, drugs, and incarceration. Under Emmy's influence, he changes direction.