Premier Xiao-ying Tien, "The Smiling Man", masterminds the invasion, using the might of a newly modernized China to crush his enemies, both inside and outside the nation. His plan is to crush Taiwan in a war which will also break the power of the Communist Party Militia forever. Opposing him, Taiwanese President Chiu Wong Chen and General Kai set aside their differences, leading their people in a fight against massive odds. Armed with a mix of modern and obsolete weapons, their armies clash for the destiny of a billion and a half people. Caught in the middle of this war is: Mike Shannon, an American reporter who arrives cynical, but finds himself falling in love with Taiwan and it's people. Marshal Zhou, a veteran of the Civil War, fighting one last battle against the enemies of his youth, not knowing of his own enemies at home. American pilot Daniel Day, flying a jet in a modern and re-formed "Flying Tigers", fighting for Taiwan. Party Chairman Lap Wo Lam, a Marxist fanatic watching his revolution being taken over by China's new capitolists. Zheng Yi Kwan, young Marxist fanatic turned middle-aged Marxist fanatic, leading his Party Militia troops in a war he does not understand, for a nation he no longer knows. Each of them meets their destiny in the storming waters and embattled beaches of FORMOSA STRAITS. They all do their parts in the bloody invasions of Quemoy and Matsu, in the savage naval and air battles that rage around the embattled islands, in the command centers and meeting rooms where the fate of nations are determined, on battlefields where thousands die for the dreams of their nations. All the while, the battle between the titanic dictatorship and a small free nation is watched by a world that has lost interest in ideological conflicts, but cannot forget a tiny free nation that refuses to lay down and die. This is a story of the soldiers and politicians, fanatics and reporters and ordinary people caught up in a great conflict. Written by T. J. McFadden, the author of the novel "Landing Party", FORMOSA STRAITS is a novel in the tradition of Tom Clancy's "Red Storm Rising". For fans of Clancy, Dale Brown or Alistair Maclean, this book is a sure hit. But more than just action, it is a story of today's China and Taiwan, in a conflict which could begin tomorrow.