Elantris used to be a place of magic, and the Elantrians were gods in the eyes of people, able to create and heal with a mere wave of the hand. But after a cataclysmic event, known as the "Reod", the inhabitants of the city became "cursed" and the city was sealed off from society. Anyone affected by the "Shaod", the random turning of a person into an Elantrian, is thrown into the city, to stay there for all eternity.
Soft cover.