It tells that the Gokturks, who ruled Central Asia between 552-744, were devastated by an enemy raid, and that they re-sprouted from the only surviving young man and a female gray wolf.
The most famous episode of the epic:
While the Turks were sitting on the shores of the Western Sea, they were attacked by an enemy. All Turks were put to the sword. It disappeared. A wounded young man was left among the dead, and the enemies found him and cut off his arms and legs. But the young man did not die. They left like that.
A female gray wolf came and healed the young man's wounds, fed him with her milk and saved him. Then the enemies came back and wanted to kill this young man. The wolf kidnapped the brave man and took him to a cave where no one could find him. They lived in that cave. They had ten sons. The children grew up and got married. A clan emerged from each of them. One of them was the Ashine tribe.
Aşine became the ruler of the Turks because she was the smartest of all her siblings.