From what I understand the particle に marks the doer in passive voice
sentences, but I found this one in a book:

> あいつから、例の本が彼女に渡された。

The に particle here as a "marking the doer" doesn't make any sense to me. Is
the meaning of に in passive sentences determined by the context?
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question
grammar particle-に passive-voice
Particle に in passive sentences? あいつから、例の本が彼女に渡された
It’s dependent on the verb.

In your example, 彼女に渡す is used in the passive form. In other words, に is more
strongly bound to the verb 渡す than to the passive construction.

If you need to add the agent (i.e. the doer of 渡す) in that sentence without
using から, you would most likely say:

> 例の本があいつ **によって** 彼女に渡された。
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Yes, in general, something like 彼女に渡された is an **ambiguous** expression; this
彼女 can be either the giver or the receiver depending on the context and the
other particles in the sentence. Similar ambiguity happens when a verb related
to giving or passing is used in the passive form.

However, there is no ambiguity in your sentence. There is already あいつから which
clearly specifies the giver, so 彼女に marks the receiver of the book. In
addition, if 彼女 is the giver, you have to mark 本 using を, not が:

> 本 **を** 彼女に渡された。  
>  [I] was given a book **by/from** her.
>
> 本 **が** 彼女に渡された。  
>  The book was passed **to** her.

For more discussion regarding this type of ambiguity in passive sentences,
see:

  * [The meaning of ”あれは魔術師に与えられた祝福”](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/76392/5010) (see my answer)
  * [How does the passive form work here?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/38739/5010)
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answer