It's 1888, and 12-year-old John Nicol has got a job at the Forth Bridge construction site. John knows it's dangerous – four boys have already fallen from the bridge into the river below – but with his father gone, he must provide an income for his family. At first, John gets to stay on land, and he even makes a new friend, Cora, and a squirrel companion, Rusty. Then he's assigned to a Rivet Gang on the bridge itself. John is terrified of heights, but he's even more afraid of his new boss, Cain Murdoch, a notorious bully who is determined to get John off the bridge in any way he can ...

Based on real people and events, Rivet Boy blends fact and fiction to tell the story of one boy's role in the building of the iconic Forth Bridge– Scotland's greatest hand-built wonder.