The Journey to the East by Hermann Hesse is a mesmerizing tale of a journey that is both geographic and spiritual. The story is narrated by H.H., a German choirmaster, who joins an expedition with the League, a secret society that includes notable figures like Paul Klee, Mozart, and Albertus Magnus.

The participants traverse both space and time, encountering Noah's Ark in Zurich and Don Quixote at Bremgarten. Their ultimate destination is the East, the "Home of the Light," where they hope to find spiritual renewal. However, the initial harmony begins to unravel into conflict. Each traveler finds the group intolerable and ventures off alone, with H.H. blaming others for the journey's failure.

Only long after the trip, while examining records in the League archives, does H.H. uncover his own role in the group's dissolution and the ominous significance of the journey itself.