The mechanical behaviour of nanocrystalline materials (that is, polycrystals with a grain size of less than 100 nm) remains controversial. Although it is commonly accepted that the intrinsic deformation behaviour of these materials arises from the interplay between dislocation and grain-boundary processes, little is known about the specific deformation mechanisms. Here we use large-scale molecular-dynamics simulations to elucidate this intricate interplay during room-temperature plastic deformation of model nanocrystalline aluminium microstructures. We demonstrate that, in contrast to coarse-grained aluminium, mechanical twinning may play an important role in the deformation behaviour of nanocrystalline aluminium. Our results illustrate that this type of simulation has now advanced to a level where it provides a powerful new tool for elucidating and quantifying-in a degree of detail not possible experimentally-the atomic-level mechanisms controlling the complex dislocation and grain-boundary processes in heavily deformed materials with a submicrometre grain size.