  For a long time, investigation into the weak interactions of quarks has
guided us toward understanding the Standard Model we know today. Now in the era
of high precision, these studies are still one of the most promising avenues
for peering beyond the Standard Model. This is a large-scale endeavour with
many tales and many protagonists. In these pages I follow a few threads of a
complex story, those passing through the realm of lattice gauge theory.
