The young Lübeck poet and anarchist Erich Mühsam (1878-1934) is sent to a spa in Switzerland by his worried brothers in the summer of 1910. There, he finds himself in a bourgeois environment that shows little interest in his talents. Writing poetry proves difficult for him, and his attempts to win over a pretty fellow patient are largely unsuccessful. He is constantly troubled by concerns about sexuality and money, while hoping that at least the chanson lyrics he has been commissioned to write will be paid for.