The pathway from gene activation in the nucleus to mRNA translation and decay at specific locations in the cytoplasm is both streamlined and highly interconnected. This review discusses how pre-mRNA processing, including 5′ cap addition, splicing, and polyadenylation, contributes to both the efficiency and fidelity of gene expression. The connections of pre-mRNA processing to upstream events in transcription and downstream events, including translation and mRNA decay, are elaborate, extensive, and remarkably interwoven.