Far north - Marcel Theroux

Out on the far northern border of a failed state, Makepeace patrols the ruins of a dying city and tries to keep its unruly inhabitants in check.
Into this cold, isolated world comes evidence that life is flourishing elsewhere and Makepeace is inspired to take the road to reconnect with human society.
What Makepeace finds is a world unravelling, stockaded villages enforcing a rough and uncertain justice, mysterious slave camps labouring to harness the little-understood technologies of a vanished civilisation.
But Makepeace's journey also leads to unexpected human contact, tenderness, and the dark secrets behind this frozen world.