The Nelson Boys is a gritty, six-part drama based on a suburban council estate in South London. This story follows the lead character, Vince Nelson's return to the estate from his self-exile to Thailand (via prison) for the first time in twenty years. There are a number of reasons he has not returned before, reasons that will soon become apparent. Vince is one of seven parentless brothers, brothers who have had to fend for themselves in a corrupt, isolated environment. Vince now finds himself at his brother Danny's bedside in hospital, where he is fighting for his life.
Danny is said to have been a victim of a mugging, or at least this is what the Nelson Boys are told. In the search for answers, Vince is on a one-man mission to get to the bottom of what has happened to Danny. However, Vince is about to discover he has been deserted by his closest friends, lied to by the people he loves, cheated on by the ones he holds dearest and punished for things he hasn't done.
Over the six episodes each character's intertwined backstory is pieced together through a series of flashbacks and confessions, to reveal the truth behind a series of events that some would have hoped to have been long forgotten. Vince comes with a tough reputation and a violent background and now, with a reason for returning, things are about to get interesting.