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<i>A high-octane, rip-roaring tale of Naval Aviation set against the backdrop of a world that could have been.</i> <p>What if the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Al Gore in 2000, and there was no U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003? What if that led to Colin Powell becoming the first African American president rather than an obscure senator from Illinois? What if these changes caused other ripples throughout America's vast military industrial complex, affecting procurement choices? <p>It is now 2013, and the borders of Iraq and Iran have been redrawn by force. Iran's 2003 invasion of Iraq has left it in control of Iraq's rich southeastern oil fields, and provoked a civil war between Saddam's Sunni supporters and the Iraqi Kurds in the north. Flush with money from its oil conquests, Iran has modernized and bolstered its armed forces with the direct aid of Russia and China. The post 9/11 war in Afghanistan has ended, and the U.S. Navy has returned to the Persian Gulf after a ten-year absence. When a new, inexperienced president begins his first term, America's adversaries see the opportunity to test the fledgling administration and further their own ambitions on the world stage. <p>Tensions rise as Iran begins a series of provocations, bolstered by Russian and Chinese mercenary groups armed with advanced aircraft and equipment. When Iran declares suzerainty over the critical Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Navy is suddenly faced with its most serious challenge in decades-and the world is watching.<br>